How the Other Half Lives ~ Updated 10/22: I Forgot Something!

[Dugette]

After our lovely brunch at Boma and nap in the AKL lobby, we were ready to tackle the cold afternoon at Animal Kingdom! We had a stash of Fast Passes and were ready to use them! We decided to head to Dinosaur first. This was an appropriate display, given how chilly it was outside:

I just noticed that the snowman is next to an ice cream cart. I bet that was popular this cold day!

Not sure if this was on the way to or from the ride, but here’s what we passed by:

Our Dinosaur Fast Passes were quite useful, as there actually was a line there! We bypassed the line and rode (not by ourselves this time, though!)

Next, we headed over to redeem our two sets of Everest Fast Passes. We passed this band along the way:

Approaching the mountain:

We used our Fast Passes with the 9am window first. After that ride, we hopped right back in with our 9:40am Fast Passes, hoping no one would question how we got two times so close together. Luckily, nobody did. The rides were fun. Chilly, but fun!

Next, we made our way to Africa to use our Safari Fast Passes. On the way, we saw DeVine (again):

We hopped on the Safari and enjoyed the sights:

We saw Cheetahs…cool! We don’t catch them too often.

We had hoped to go on another Safari (because who can get enough of that, really?), but we didn’t have enough time before our ADR at Yak and Yeti. So, we decided to give away our other set of Safari FPs, since we wouldn’t be able to use them. We offered them to a few different parties of 2 that were walking near the Safari, but nobody would take them! People are funny sometimes! So, we tucked them away and headed for Yak and Yeti. And snuck in one more pic in front of the Tree of Life:

Up next: Yak & Yeti and Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade…simultaneously!

 

[jc040404]

So i'm not crazy when thinking that cheetahs aren't an every safari type of sighting! Love your safari pics!

I can't believe you ran into DeVine again! I still haven't seen her. I'm still not impressed either, so I'm not going to stress over it.

Can't wait to hear about Yak & Yeti. Best parade seats you can get!

 

[Dugette]

So i'm not crazy when thinking that cheetahs aren't an every safari type of sighting! Love your safari pics!

I can't believe you ran into DeVine again! I still haven't seen her. I'm still not impressed either, so I'm not going to stress over it.

Can't wait to hear about Yak & Yeti. Best parade seats you can get!

Yeah, we rarely get much of a view of the cheetahs, so actually getting a picture was a treat!

Funny, on our first trip, we actually asked about where/when to find DeVine and made it a point to see her. On this day, however, we just happened to run across her (twice). My favorite part is watching the people that have no clue that there is a person in the vine...they walk by and see a crowd staring at a vine and look so confused!

Yak and Yeti coming right up...thanks for the idea of watching the parade from there!

For you and anyone else who may be lurking, sorry it's been so long between updates again. We've been SOOOOOO busy lately, but I think I can spare a few minutes tonight to get Yak & Yeti posted. Eventually, Day 3 will end!

 

[Dugette]

This mid-afternoon trip to Yak & Yeti was inspired by jc040404’s trip report. Her family had ended up seated by the second story windows at Yak & Yeti during the afternoon parade. They learned that the parade went by every afternoon at 4:05pm. We thought that would be a nice way to see Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade. So, we made an ADR for 3pm (the closest we could get to parade time).

When we arrived, we asked to be seated by the window where we could see the parade. We also said we would be willing to wait. Well, it turns out that there are only a couple of tables next to the window with really good views. And there was a large party already sitting at them (and not going anywhere anytime soon). However, they offered to seat us across the aisle from them where, although not right next to the window, the view would still be good. We said okay and headed upstairs to our seats. Although we would have to look past the people at the table between us and the window, the view was pretty good.

I remembered having read on the Dis that the Yak Attack was a worthwhile drink here, so we ordered one to share. The description of it from allears.net is: Mango Daiquiri, Bacardi Light Rum, and Wildberry Flavors. Well, not only was it tasty, but it was one of the prettiest drinks I’ve ever seen:

I loved looking at it! Drinking it was nice too.

We decided to split an appetizer of Wok-Fried Green Beans - battered green beans, sweet Thai chili dipping sauce:

Also very tasty!

For our meal, we were sharing. We got the Kobe Beef Burger - 10 oz grilled American Kobe beef burger, sesame-soy sauce, mayonnaise, crispy shoestring fries. Topped with choice of shiitake mushroom & scallion compote or Asian slaw:

This also hit the spot. And the fries were really good too!

While we were enjoying our food, the parade made its way down the street towards us. We watched and ate (and took pictures):

We couldn’t hear any of the sound/music, but that was made up for by the fact that we were not standing out in the cold, but instead were in a comfortable room (in fact, empty except for us and that other party) and enjoying yummy food.

And, speaking of yummy food, at some point in the parade we ordered dessert. We’d heard tons of recommendations for the Fried Wontons - Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream, honey vanilla drizzle. Naturally, we ordered those to share:

Quite a delicious way to wrap up our meal!

Here you can see the view we had of the parade, past the other tables:

A few more parade pics:

After waving at Mickey, we were ready to head out. In fact, so was the other party, who clearly had stayed just for the parade. They were out of there quick! As we were getting up to go, Dug was taking some pics and our waiter offered to take our picture:

Those two tables right behind us are the ones with the view that the other family had been at.

A few more pictures from around the place (by the way, it was nearly empty…why it was so hard to get an ADR, I don’t know):

It was a very pretty place. We enjoyed our meal and the entertainment was nice too.

Up next: More lounging around at the Poly. A chilly sleighride. And, wow, is it ever a Small World after all (and I’m not talking about the ride)!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Wow! Never thought about watching the parade from Yak and Yeti! Great view! oooooh dessert wontons...I miss you so

 

[Dugette]

Wow! Never thought about watching the parade from Yak and Yeti! Great view! oooooh dessert wontons...I miss you so

It was a pretty neat way to see the parade...especially when it turned out to be such a chilly day!

Mmmmmmm, I could sure go for some dessert wontons right now!

 

[graviela]

i love your trip report...we are taking our kids in december and report is helping me plan....do we need heavy coats or just light jackets...thanks for your help and input

 

[Dugette]

i love your trip report...we are taking our kids in december and report is helping me plan....do we need heavy coats or just light jackets...thanks for your help and input

I'm glad you're enjoying! And, yay, there's a plus of me taking so long to do this TR...it can help soon-to-be-December travelers!

As far as the weather and the coats, it really can vary. The day I'm writing about currently was the coldest of the trip and I was wearing a winter jacket (not my warmest one, but a winter jacket nonetheless), scarf, hat, and gloves. Dug had only brought his fleece and he was chilly. However, the weather varied enough during the trip that there were times we didn't need jackets at all. I'd say at least bring a light jacket, but really watch the forecast as the trip gets closer to see if the heavy jackets are needed. For us, coming from Minnesota, I was wearing my winter jacket when we went to the airport anyway, so I had it with me that way and just threw my fleece in my luggage. Keep in mind, too, that if you plan to be out in the parks for long periods in the evening, you'll want to check what kind of temps to be expecting then, as it might seem okay, but once you're out in it for 4 hours, its just too cold. I do think our trip coincided with an unusually cold snap, though, so hopefully you won't be so chilled on your trip!

By the way, going in December is really a great time...so much to see and do! And, because we had jackets with pockets, we didn't need to lug around a park bag!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Loving your TR. We are taking our kids next Christmas, so I am really enjoying seeing all the holiday pics.

 

[jc040404]

I sooo want some of those wontons now! They always seem to have the best strawberries, too. That drink looks soo good, too!

I've noticed how Yak & Yeti seems empty, despite no ADRs being available before. I really think they must not give Disney the option to book it full, since they aren't WDW owned. It makes sense to me anyway. On our last visit there, we were the only people waiting with a reservation. When I commented about getting to go ahead of all that were here longer, the CM said that the ADR just meant we get taken care of first. Might be a nifty place to try to catch without one.

Too bad about not getting the window seat for the parade. I feel kinda bad for it, too. Your pics look great despite, and I'm sure it was so much better than being down in the cold!

 

[Dugette]

Loving your TR. We are taking our kids next Christmas, so I am really enjoying seeing all the holiday pics.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas trip. It is such a magical place to be around the holidays! More holiday photos coming throughout the trip!

I sooo want some of those wontons now! They always seem to have the best strawberries, too. That drink looks soo good, too!

I've noticed how Yak & Yeti seems empty, despite no ADRs being available before. I really think they must not give Disney the option to book it full, since they aren't WDW owned. It makes sense to me anyway. On our last visit there, we were the only people waiting with a reservation. When I commented about getting to go ahead of all that were here longer, the CM said that the ADR just meant we get taken care of first. Might be a nifty place to try to catch without one.

Too bad about not getting the window seat for the parade. I feel kinda bad for it, too. Your pics look great despite, and I'm sure it was so much better than being down in the cold!

Yum, wontons! I think that makes a lot of sense about Disney not being able to fully book Y & Y, since it's not owned by them. That would explain why it was so quiet! Don't feel bad about us not getting the window seat. The view was still good and the meal was yummy too. Never would have thought of the idea w/o you!

 

[Dugette]

After our meal at Yak & Yeti, it was time to head back to the Poly. We still had those 2 Safari Fast Passes that we couldn’t manage to give away, so we decided to leave them as “pixie dust” for someone with a good eye. I had read on the DIS about people leaving them on tables and such, but we didn’t want them to blow away.

We came across the Coke bottle display at Drinkwallah and decided that would be a good place to stash them (picture recreated the next day, actual ones were facing outwards…):

Hopefully somebody took them and got some use out of them. They were gone by the next day.

Not sure when we took them, but at some point during the day, we got Photopass pics taken:

I think the photographer told Dug to pretend it was really hot in this picture?

Anyway, we caught a bus back to the Poly. It was a full bus, so we had to split up. Dug sat in the very back row, next to a little girl. Initially, she seemed very suspicious of him, but then decided to start babbling to him about her take on Animal Kingdom. Dug thought it was pretty amusing when she stated, “When animals fight, they have emotions!”

Once we arrived back in our Hawaii building haven, we decided to talk with the concierge about the next day’s wildlife safari that we had signed up for. We were concerned, since it was SO cold, as to whether or not we’d see any animals during our tour. This was probably our only poor concierge experience. The woman we talked to (I guess I’ll leave her name out) seemed to think our question was silly and didn’t deserve an answer. She finally said that she would check on it and leave us a message. No surprise, we never got a message.

So, after that little chat, we headed on up to our room for a quick nap. And, what should we find but turned down beds:

Sweet! This was the first time this happened during our stay. Also in the room (but I think from the previous day) were our packages from Downtown Disney that we’d had sent back to our resort:

Nice that they were delivered directly to our room! Also, we had a complimentary newspaper. Which featured: home. Specifically, what the winter weather had caused—the roof of the Metrodome had collapsed under the weight of the snow:

Crazy! Oddly enough, it’s taken me so long to write this trip report that now, 7 months later, they have just completed the repairs and the Metrodome now has a roof again!

Anyway, we climbed into the nicely turned-down bed and took a snooze.

After a bit, Dug was hungry. I wasn’t, so he headed down to the Lounge to grab some food. He brought it back to the room to enjoy. He got sushi:

Salad:

And some Kilauea juice:

While he was eating, he also made a call to his friend that was watching our cat. Kitty was doing well. After his snack, Dug took another quick nap.

When we awoke, we bundled up to make our way over to Fort Wilderness. We apparently picked a very appropriate night to take a sleigh ride, as it was one of the coldest nights of our trip! So, naturally, being as super-smart as we are, we decided to take boats there!

The boat from the Poly to the Magic Kingdom was small and very, very cold. We rode a bigger boat over to Fort Wilderness, which was slightly better, but still cold. The cool thing is that we got to watch Wishes from the boat, which was really nice.

Once we got to the Fort, we walked over near Trails End and found some horses and sleighs. We were a little bit early, but it wasn’t a problem for them. (On a side note, we found out after we got back—while reading a TR—that another DISer (disneybarbie) was scheduled for a sleigh ride at the same time as us. We think, because we showed up early, she ended up on the same sleigh, but right after us!)

We were thrilled to find that the sleigh came with a nice, cozy blanket that we could use (you can see it in the upcoming picture). Our (female, pregnant) driver was very nice. And quite talkative. Here’s a pic she took of us before we got started:

The light displays were really cool. Some campers definitely decorated more than others, but it was impressive how much STUFF they had! Here’s some of our less-blurry pictures:

At one point, our sleigh was crossing a road and a Disney bus was cruising along towards us at a pretty good clip. It did slow down in time, but that was on the scary side! However, our driver pointed out that, had the bus not slowed down in time, we’d all be rolling in big-time Disney dough!

We enjoyed the sleigh ride, but I’d recommend not doing it when the temps would support actual snow! Afterwards, we headed into the shop because our driver thought the nice blankets (like the one we’d been using) were sold in that shop. We couldn’t find them, but it was fun to look around.

Then we headed back to the dock. I found this wonderfully ironic:

Passerby were laughing when they saw what we were taking a picture of.

It was a cold wait at the dock, followed by a cold ride on a boat back to the MK. Once there, we switched to the monorail for the last leg of our journey back to the Poly. We saw the electrical water pageant from the monorail, which was cool.

Once back at the Poly, we stopped into the Boutiki gift shop to look around. Then headed back to the Hawaii Building for more lounging around! It was time for dessert, drinks, and another nap!

When we arrived at the lounge, they had liquor available, but we didn’t really know what to concoct with it. However, there was a great CM there who had previously been a bartender and was able to offer good suggestions. She concocted a drink for Dug that was: kahlua, amarula, grand marnier and cream. I had the same thing, but without the splash of grand marnier. We also grabbed some desserts. Here’s our spread:

We hung out in the lounge and enjoyed every bit of it. The drinks were really good and we were glad she taught us how to make them. Dug decided to have a second drink and had Courvoisier and a bit of grand marnier. He said it was powerful:

After that, it was time to take another nap. MK was open until 1am that night, so we wanted to rest up a bit, then show up for the late night.

Even though we were in WDW and planning to go to the MK, when our alarm went off, we REALLY didn’t want to get up. But, we eventually did. We just missed a monorail, but got on the next one.

Got to the park, went through the gates, and went through the right entrance, under the train station. As we passed through the entrance, I heard a voice behind us saying enthusiastically, “I’ve been waiting 12 years to go on this ride again!” For some reason, probably a combination of curiosity about what was being said and the voice that was saying it, I turned around to look. When I saw the person right behind us that belonged to the voice, I stopped dead in my tracks and stuttered, “Oh….my gosh!!!”

It was my old friend “Donald” (as we’ll call him for this TR)! I had known him and his wife “Daisy” for over 10 years. We’d all worked together, before they dated, and I was friends with both of them. We’re still friends, but don’t see each other all that often. Great people though. I guess we'd been saying we should get together sometime soon...who knew it would be in FL instead of MN? Also, they have two little boys (“Huey” and “Dewey”) and a third (“Louie”) was on the way during this trip.

Anyway, Donald stopped in his tracks and was shocked to see us too. After some quick hugs, he introduced us to his step-dad, who we’ll refer to as “Scrooge McDuck” (not because he is anything like him, just because that’s the only other Donald-relative I can come up with!)

Turns out that their whole family was in town (Donald’s mom and step-dad, his sister and her family, and Daisy, Huey, Dewey, and not-yet-born Louie). Donald and Daisy’s immediate family had been planning a cruise in March, but found out that Louie was making an unexpected appearance in late March (turned out to be early April), so they had to cancel that cruise and decided to take this December trip to WDW instead. The rest of his family was back at the Boardwalk Resort, but Donald and Scrooge were the crazies who wanted to head out late at night in the cold to hit the MK. I believe Donald and Daisy had taken Huey and Dewey on a couple of previous WDW trips, so they were not newbies. And, ironically, I almost once went to WDW with Donald and Daisy while they were dating! They offered that I could come with and I seriously considered it, but decided not to be a third wheel. Who knew I would end up at WDW with them after all, just over a decade later!

Anyway, so of course I had to find out what Donald had been waiting all these years to ride. Turns out it was Space Mountain. Last time he rode it was on that trip that I almost went on with them. Even though Dug and I had planned to do some of the more “nostalgic” stuff this evening (since it was the last trip of our Year of Disney)—like Carousel of Progress and Snow White, we scrapped our plans and hung out with Donald and Scrooge instead.

Space Mountain had very little wait and before we knew it, we were up there saying we were a party of four (how weird, when you’re so used to being two)! Since Scrooge had never been on it before, but loves roller coasters, we let him have the front seat. Donald sat behind him and I sat behind Donald, with Dug behind me (front of the second car, with two random strangers behind him). We had a blast and here’s our really-hard-to-see ride photo:

When we’d been in line, we’d talked about how there were two sides, and two separate coasters, inside the mountain. They’d directed us to the left side the first time through, but we knew that we could ask for the other side. And Donald and Scrooge wanted to try the right side. So, back in we went. And to the right side. Also, with almost no line. Since Dug had “the best face” in the ride photo, he got to ride in front this time. Another great ride. Next, all the guys needed a bathroom break. I met them outside afterwards.

Donald decided he liked the right side better and that it seemed wilder. (I know they are mirror images, but the experience is still different). We decided to do the right again and let Donald ride in front this time.

Unfortunately, while we waited in the short line, there was a ride breakdown. Although we considered bailing, we stuck it out. It was nice to have the time to visit. It wasn’t too long before the ride started up again and we had a great third ride. Good thing I love Space Mountain!

Because it was close-by, with no line, we decided to jump on Buzz next. It was fun and Dug apparently got this score:

Because Scrooge McDuck is a roller coaster lover, we decided to cross the park so he could ride Big Thunder at night. Dug’s back was hurting him, but he was a trooper and we made it over to BTMRR. We all enjoyed the ride.

We only had a short amount of time before the park closed, so we suggested a classic that usually has a line (but not at 1am): Peter Pan’s Flight. We enjoyed a peaceful journey over Neverland to cap off our night.

As we made our way out of the park, we chatted and made plans to get in touch and spend more time together. We also decided we should try to get a picture to document this chance meeting. Because we’d just been heading out for the late night, we hadn’t brought our camera. However, Dug had his iPhone, which had a flash-less camera. We tried a pic in front of the lit-up castle, but it was too dark to see us. However, we did find a spot on Main Street that was just bright enough. Me, Donald, and Scrooge McDuck:

Once we made it back through the gates, they headed off to the buses and we to the monorail. We made it back to our room and were quickly sound asleep!

 

[Dugette]

First off, I forgot to mention that we received another Bailey update that night. In response to the castle-lighting pictures we'd sent the night before, my dad wrote:

Bailey says thanks for the picture. She's done trying to help us eat our dinner, and now she's on to trying to help us keep warm.

Hope you're having a great time!

So, anyway, we put together another trailer with the upcoming day. Not as scary as the last one, but it's cute (we think):



Oh, by the way, we may have, um, booked a WDW trip last night... We don't know if it will happen, but we grabbed an offer so we have it as a possibility. We really need a vacation. And who knew going to Food & Wine for a week would be significantly cheaper than spending a few days at Disneyland and visiting Dug's brother in Southern CA?

 

[jc040404]

That sleigh ride sounds like so much fun! All those decorations are done by the campers?? People on vacation?? That's so wild to me! They must have fun!

How awesome that you ran into an old friend at MK! Definitely a small world, for sure. That looked like a wonderful evening cataching up, with a pretty awesome Buzz score, too!

The new trailer is cute! I like the feel of that one. Definitely not "scary" this time. Hope I remember to show Andrew tomorrow. He loves 'em!


And....

Hooray for another (possible) WDW trip!! I can kinda see how a trip to WDW would probably cost a little less than so much over CA though. I can't wait to see what you decide to do. Either way, it sounds like fun!

 

[lmillercrew]

YAY!!! Another trip! Shhhh...

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi!

Nice to read about your sleigh ride... just before ours! It was so tricky to get good photos from the sleigh wasn't it lol - yours are much better than mine.
Amazing score on Buzz light year.. I either seem to get less than 10,000 points or hit something that gives me 999,999 !!

Exciting to have a new trip planned!


Emma x

 

[Nermel9]

Love your Poly pics! The sleigh ride sounds like so much fun! I'm doing the Haunted Carriage Ride in October, but the Sleigh ride sounds really nice, I hope I can go in December someday and do that!

Yay for your trip! When is it?

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Yeah for your trip! I hope it works out...
Thanks for the updates....the sleigh ride sounds really fun...and I have heard about the Christmas deorations there at the camp ground...hope to see them in person...someday!

 

[Dugette]

That sleigh ride sounds like so much fun! All those decorations are done by the campers?? People on vacation?? That's so wild to me! They must have fun!

Yes, some of the campsites were just ridiculous! So many giant inflatables and stuff! The driver told us that some of the campers stay there long-term over the holidays (weeks to months). Many come back year after year and add to their decorations. The pictures can't really capture how elaborate the campsite decorations were.

How awesome that you ran into an old friend at MK! Definitely a small world, for sure. That looked like a wonderful evening cataching up, with a pretty awesome Buzz score, too!

Crazy, huh? I still can't quite believe it. What could the odds be of finding one of your good friends from home entering the MK right behind you (and neither knowing the other was going to be there). What a fun and unexpected night, though! Glad we managed to get up from our nap for it!

The new trailer is cute! I like the feel of that one. Definitely not "scary" this time. Hope I remember to show Andrew tomorrow. He loves 'em!

I hope Andrew enjoys it!

And....

Hooray for another (possible) WDW trip!! I can kinda see how a trip to WDW would probably cost a little less than so much over CA though. I can't wait to see what you decide to do. Either way, it sounds like fun!

You know, one of the big differences is that you pretty much have to rent a car for DL, which adds quite a bit of expense. Also, there are no value resorts on property, so you either have to pay for super-deluxe or stay off-site. Since we'd need to be off-site, there are no "deals" to be had, really, compared to WDW. No free dining at DL. The other factor is that Dug's brother (the reason we'd considered going to CA) is working two jobs and has very little time actually free for visiting with us. We still haven't decided for sure what we're doing (there were some other travel possibilities also), but WDW is looking fairly likely. Strangely enough, it's actually the cheapest possibility...and people think a WDW trip is pricey...ha! Sorry, rambling...

YAY!!! Another trip! Shhhh...

I so need a vacation...

Hi!

Nice to read about your sleigh ride... just before ours! It was so tricky to get good photos from the sleigh wasn't it lol - yours are much better than mine.

So funny to find out we were both there that night! (And had the same horse...although I'm drawing a blank on his name right now...) We have so many blurry pictures that Dug took and I took (blurry) video of the whole ride too. So hard to capture all those lights at night! And, brrrrrr.......

Amazing score on Buzz light year.. I either seem to get less than 10,000 points or hit something that gives me 999,999 !!

Exciting to have a new trip planned!

Yeah, we have watched the "cheat" video for Buzz many times...we were in the "under 10k" boat before that. Awesome that you've gotten 999,999, though--I have yet to do that.

Love your Poly pics! The sleigh ride sounds like so much fun! I'm doing the Haunted Carriage Ride in October, but the Sleigh ride sounds really nice, I hope I can go in December someday and do that!

Yay for your trip! When is it?

The sleigh ride was fun, but it was TOO cold to fully enjoy it. The Haunted Carriage Ride sounds cool...I was reading about that the other day. If/when you go in December, the sleigh ride is a fun little diversion!

Funny you should ask when our tentative trip is, because I think we overlap with you a bit. We are currently booked for October 5th-11th, but are probably going to extend it one more day. We've got until August 21st to decide if we're going. I might have to steal some planning ideas from your PTR!

Yeah for your trip! I hope it works out...
Thanks for the updates....the sleigh ride sounds really fun...and I have heard about the Christmas deorations there at the camp ground...hope to see them in person...someday!

Thanks, I hope the trip works out too. Lots of factors to consider, but I think it's becoming more likely. The sleigh ride was fun and it really is impressive what those campers do! I hope you get to see them someday too!

 

[AprilRenee]

Strangely enough, it's actually the cheapest possibility...and people think a WDW trip is pricey...ha! Sorry, rambling...

I've noticed this too! Every time I try to plan a trip anywhere else I just think... "man, I could go to Disney for a week for less than this 5 day trip to _____" Hence, why we now have a Disney trip planned for Jan!
And people tell me all the time, "It's so expensive...we just can't afford it" Drives me nuts! They don't WANT to even try!