I Don't Do Trip Reports.... **3 New Updates Added 9/04, Pgs 8 & 9 Linked on Page 1**

[Anc96]

Yay, great update! Cool necklace!

Which animal did she pick?

She chose a whale. Yea.. not many whales at WDW, but she loves Sea World..lol.

 

[Anc96]

Cool totem! My oldest is an animal lover and wants to stay at AKL...she doesn't know it but I'm considering staying there for her sweet 16.

Your DD will LOVE it! You can see animals from just about every part of the resort. I highly recommend a savannah view too. It's just so nice to relax and the balcony at watch the animals graze...
There are many viewing areas all over though even if you don't get a savannah view.

Thank you for reading Nurse_Mommy4!

I'm hoping to step it up a bit with my TR.. I'm back to work now and it's so hard to find the time. I'm doing day 6 now so only 11 days to go...

 

[kaw1218]

Another great installment..... I am printing out a bunch of Tr's to bring in the car on our ride down. My DD's are going to love reading about you and your DD!!

 

[Anc96]

Great update! Finally in DISNEY! I just love the resort activites. The bead session sounds like it was a lot of fun. Loved Boma! I am a big zebra dome fan, too...yum. Wish we had seen more of AKL while we were there, but we really didn't get to see it in all its glory, so I enjoy hearing you describe it.

You know, I think I must just be

from working too hard lately, but I went back and skimmed previous posts and still can't figure it out: who the heck is Krista? I must have missed a previous reference somewhere.

The bead activities were all different (though my dd did do a couple more than once)... there was one that had us doing a kind of scavanger hunt through the resort. They gave you a instruction 'map', and we had to follow it and find the artwork it referred to, document it, draw a pic of it, and write down which country it was from, then solve a puzzle from the answers. I think we had to find 5 or 6 of them. DD had a ball (and found the artwork interesting too !).. and it was IN the resort, so it was cool! So I liked it too..lol.

And Krista!..lol. I haven't mentioned her in this TR. But she is most likely well known to people who have stayed on property before.
You know how every other TV channel on property seems to be about Disney (a resort, your resort, DVC... etc.), and there's a station that constantly plays the top 10 attractions at Disney? There's a woman who does the countdown, but she's different than the one that used to do it, and that was Krista. We knew her dialog by heart... including the screams and squeals. I had read somewhere that we weren't the only ones. People were torn, some loved her, some hated her and was glad she was gone. I didn't get that much into it that I really cared who did the countdown. But it was odd to see someone else doing it... and we no longer know the dialog.. so less fun. We couldn't make fun of Krista anymore. Hopefully Krista has gone on to bigger and better things!

Thank you for keeping up with my TR Cyn! I think you and S'belle are the only ones that are still here from the begining!
I'm determined to finish this thing for my DD. I think I told you I plan on printing it out and attaching it to the picture book of this trip. I wish I would have done it for our other trips too... it really helps bring all the memories back when they're written down.

 

[Anc96]

Another great installment..... I am printing out a bunch of Tr's to bring in the car on our ride down. My DD's are going to love reading about you and your DD!!

What a great idea! And, I'm flattered you picked mine as one of them! I just wish I could finish the last 11 days of our trip in 5 days so it will be completed before you leave for your trip..... but I just don't see that happening!

Thanks again for reading kaw1218!

 

[kaw1218]

What a great idea! And, I'm flattered you picked mine as one of them! I just wish I could finish the last 11 days of our trip in 5 days so it will be completed before you leave for your trip..... but I just don't see that happening!

Thanks again for reading kaw1218!

That's Ok, most of the ones I have picked are finished.... so yours will just give the kids something to look forward to when the get home!!!!

btw...I enjoyed reading your TR so far.... my arm is definitately not being twisted here!!!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Great update! Finally in DISNEY! I just love the resort activites. The bead session sounds like it was a lot of fun. Loved Boma! I am a big zebra dome fan, too...yum. Wish we had seen more of AKL while we were there, but we really didn't get to see it in all its glory, so I enjoy hearing you describe it.

You know, I think I must just be

from working too hard lately, but I went back and skimmed previous posts and still can't figure it out: who the heck is Krista? I must have missed a previous reference somewhere.

Hi!!!!! So glad to read another installment, but CYN you wrote exactly what I was about too...who is Krista? Isn't Boma's great? I have never tried the zebra dome thingy but after hearing so much about it I can't wait Ruthie

 

[Luvchefmic]

yeah I remember her now.....don't miss her...annoying IMHO

 

[scrap4u]

I'm still here and enjoying every post you make! Some of us just don't post as often cause we're so busy reading, reading, reading the great report!

Can't wait for the next update!

 

[dwheatl]

Hey, I'm still reading too. Just don't always get a chance to post, but I'm loving it. As for the top 10 countdown, did you notice that, even though it's different people, some of the dialog comes word for word from the planning DVD. On our DVD, it's the annoying teenage boy saying it. It was a little weird to hear a slightly more mature woman echoing the surfer dude's words.

 

[macrosswife]

Thank you for keeping up with my TR Cyn! I think you and S'belle are the only ones that are still here from the begining!

Okay, Okay!! I confess!! I'm here! I've totally been lurking, but I AM reading your trip report!! (And frantically writing down all the great info on AKL!! )
ITA with everyone...you're doing a great job for someone who "doesn't do trip reports"!!


~Kimber

 

[Anc96]

Hi!!!!! So glad to read another installment, but CYN you wrote exactly what I was about too...who is Krista? Isn't Boma's great? I have never tried the zebra dome thingy but after hearing so much about it I can't wait Ruthie

Hello Ruthie... your name is sooo familiar. Oh yeah, it's in my next installment! I can't wait to read yours so I can see how our memories differ.

Not surprised you forgot who Krista was... unless you make fun of her like me and DD... she's pretty forget-able! The new girl's name is Casey I think. We don't know her dialog yet.. but she makes weird faces that one can easily laugh at so we still get our Disney TV Comic relief.

 

[Anc96]

scrap4U
dwheatl
macrosswife

I'm glad to see you guys are still reading. It's so long between installments, it's easy to drift away!

I read many TRs too where I don't post... I'm lucky to get the time to read. Sometimes I'm reading, and have to leave the puter. When I come back it's still sitting there and I'd forgotten all about it! I hope that means I'm just busy, and not that I'm senile.....

(Oh.. macrosswife.. I LOVE the thing 1/2 wig that your DS was wearing!! I WANT one! Big DrS fan.. I have several 1st editions!).

 

[Mic_n_Min]

What a wonderful TR! Can't wait to read more!

 

[cynderella]

Not surprised you forgot who Krista was... unless you make fun of her like me and DD... she's pretty forget-able! The new girl's name is Casey I think. We don't know her dialog yet.. but she makes weird faces that one can easily laugh at so we still get our Disney TV Comic relief.

Ok, that makes sense. Thought I was going nuts! lol We DO know Casey, though. I went to the VPK site that has the WDW videos just to see if Krista was on there, but it was Casey. I got caught up in watching those darn videos and even got a little misty-eyed! I wanna go back!!!

We got a DVC card in the mail yesterday and I made vague references to DH about what a good investment it would be and he didn't shout NO (but he didn't run for the checkbook, either, lol). Guess I'll have to get out the lingerie and stuff. lol

 

[Anc96]

Day 6

So… I wake up. Not to Mickey or Stitch.. but to my cell phone ringing. It’s bf. He calls every morning and I’m usually awake by then, but not today. So we say our goodmornings/I miss yous.. and I get up out of bed. It’s 8:30… hmm. A bit late! So I hurry to get ready.

I peek out the curtains… and I won’t even open them. There are only a couple of people at the viewing area, but still, you can see into our room, so the curtains stay closed. No free shows today!

If you’ve even been to AKL you know the theme is a bit dark… I find it very beautiful and comforting. But without the curtains open, it’s darker than I’d like for the morning time.

I get dressed and ready, then wake DD and she gets up without a problem. I want to get out early because I was supposed to be meeting a fellow Dis’er at Epcot today. And, I’m not sure when we can change rooms so I figured we’d have to leave our luggage in the baggage room.

I get our morning stuff into a bag and join DD, who has finally given in and is out on the balcony.
The morning in beautiful.. and there are lots of animals out roaming around. There are people at the viewing area, and even though we’re dressed, I feel kind of silly, like we’re on display too. I waited until there wasn’t anyone by the viewing area so I could take a picture of it. I didn’t want anyone to think I was taking a picture of them!

So we leave our room to go to the front desk and find out about our new room. The CM said that’s it vacant now, but needs to be cleaned so it’d be a while, so I stored the luggage. They said they would leave it in our room when it was ready.

I check the activity schedule and another bead activity was scheduled for the pool area right at that time, so DD asks if she could do it quickly before we go (most of them only take about 15 minutes to complete.)… so we went to flamingo pond out by the pool for her to participate in the activity.

When we were at Boma the night before I checked my messages and found one from LuvChefMic….she wanted to meet the next day at Epcot. I was able to call her, but the connection was pretty bad. We agreed on a time and place to meet the next day…

While DD was doing the activity, I got busy trying to contact LuvChefMic to tell her we were running late… and I couldn’t get service. Grrr… I kept having that problem since I’d gotten on property. So I walk around with one arm in the air trying to get a service bar, and I'm sure looking very attractive... finally got one and had to leave a message, hoping she would get it on time.

The activity was about 15 minutes or so long, It was about 9:45. My original time to meet LuvChefMic (Ruthie) was 10:30, so I was hoping we could make that time.

I go to the valet and I can’t find my ticket. I might have put it in my luggage.. I can’t remember. So they search by my name, nope. They ask the license plate number and I kind of gave them a blank stare. It’s a rental car…like I know the license plate number???
And the search is on. I gave them the make and color… I thought that should be enough… how many teal colored PT Cruisers can there be? So we wait… almost 15 minutes go by and so I asked if I could just stroll through the valet section and look myself. But, just then they drive up with it… they really misspelled my last name, that’s why they couldn’t find it (At WL they had a pre-printed paper for the windshield of your car with your last name on it… the valets can’t misspell it, you would hope anyway).

So now it’s just after 10, and I’m really hoping Ruthie got the message that we were running late… I hurried to Epcot.

I asked for AAA parking, and had trouble finding a spot there… but finally we park and RUN into the park (For the record, Epcot is the ONLY place I would highly recommend AAA parking. It’s almost directly in front of the kennels and it’s a short walk to the gates.. MGM isn’t too bad either… but AKL only has about 20 designated spots and we’ve never been able to get one, and MK it’s so much more convenient and closer to just take the tram to the monorail/boat to the park… unless you want to take a long walk!).

I can’t get reception on the cell to contact Ruthie (I leave lotsa messages, our main form of communication), and it’s now about 10:45 or so. We pass the kennel and don’t see anyone who might be Ruthie. DD is hungry as we really didn’t eat any breakfast. So we go toward the Electric Umbrella to get something to eat and my phone rings. It’s Ruthie! She’d gotten my message and was on her way to the kennels to meet us. I told her where we were going so she said she’d join us at the Electric Umbrella.
We were on line and I was keeping an eye out for someone with a lime-green bag and noticed that a lot of people wear lime-green!
As soon as I saw her I knew her! She came right over to us.

Our first Dis encounter!

 

[Anc96]

Ok, that makes sense. Thought I was going nuts! lol We DO know Casey, though. I went to the VPK site that has the WDW videos just to see if Krista was on there, but it was Casey. I got caught up in watching those darn videos and even got a little misty-eyed! I wanna go back!!!

We got a DVC card in the mail yesterday and I made vague references to DH about what a good investment it would be and he didn't shout NO (but he didn't run for the checkbook, either, lol). Guess I'll have to get out the lingerie and stuff. lol

Lingerie and margaritas I find works best

What's VPK? I wanna watch WDW vidoes too!

 

[Anc96]

What a wonderful TR! Can't wait to read more!

Thank you Mic_n_Min!
More is on the way... I just need a few more holiday weekends to finish up..lol.

 

[Anc96]

DD is kind of quiet, I think checking Ruthie out. Ruthie was supposed to come with her sister and 2 DNs, but her plans changed unexpectedly. I was glad she got to have my DD around for a bit because I’m sure she was looking forward to sharing Disney time with her DNs.

Ruthie is GREAT! We seem to have a lot in common, and she thinks I have a sense of humor! (either that or she was just laughing at me )
So we finished our meals (I can’t remember what they were!..lol).. and we chatted away.
I commented on her t-shirt and asked who it was. She was surprised that we didn’t know who Figment was… and took no time at all taking us over to see him.

There’s a big purple dragon here? In Epcot? How come I never saw him before??
So we follow Ruthie to this “Figment” thing… wondering how we could have missed a famed character.

I think we found that Ruthie was just a tad obsessed with our large purple friend.
When we get to the Figment character meet place, we find that there is only one small child in line to see him… but Figment’s getting ready for a break. Suddenly, Ruthie shoves the tiny girl out of the way and yells desperately! “Figment, it’s ME, RUTHIE! It’s MY turn.. come back, come baaaack!! “. After the child picked herself up, rather dizzy after having her poor little 5 year old body smashed up against the wall… she looked up at Ruthie and managed a pitiful little plea…”pwease lady.. it’s me turn… pwease I wanna see purpoo Figgy”. Flames shot out or Ruthie’s eyes and we all took a few steps back.
This is Figment looking down at the fallen child.

Figment DID stay and had his picture taken with Ruthie. There were other children coming towards the building and I think they just wanted her the heck out of there before she took hostages...

LoL… so Ruthie.. isn’t this how you remember it too??

Hehe… ahem, well ok. May not have happened quite that way. There was one child waiting in line, and Figment was about to go on break. I think we had to wait for him to come back, but it was pretty quick. I had to talk my DD into posing with him… she said he looked scary Now that purple dragon has to be the LEAST scariest thing I’ve even seen! She finally went over to him and I got a couple of pics, but she didn’t look happy to be there.
Then Ruthie took her turn (politely) and I got a couple of pics with her giving Figment a hug.
I still didn’t know who this character was, so then Ruthie took us into Journey into Imagination to introduce us.
Well let me say DD LOVED this attraction. I liked it too, but I was surprised at how much DD liked it! This ride suddenly made Ruthie DD's new best friend…lol. We went back numerous times during our trip, and DD is the proud owner of 3 different Figments.

I don’t remember the order of the day…I remember going to the kennel to meet Dillon… and what a sweetie he was too! DD went with Ruthie to walk him (can’t keep my DD away from an available animal!) and I made a phone call.
It rained hard!
And, Ruthie took us to our second never before seen attraction, the Universe of Energy. Yes, we really have been to Disney several times before… I guess we were so interested in Mission Space and Test Track that we never looked to our left on the way over to them! We really enjoyed UOE too! I would have liked to do it again, but we never got to this trip (I think it’s almost 40 minutes long?). It’s so much fun getting to do totally new things! We usually spend a lot of time in the world showcase, and only go to the big 3, MS,TT & Soaring outside of it.
We also always do Innovations too because DD loves to play the game where you’re a robot in a race. Then you get to make a robot at the end of the game. And, we took Ruthie in there for her first robot making! (Did you do a purple one?). So we both got to share something with each other that we each hadn't done before.

The time went much too fast… I had made early ADRs at Ohana’s and we had to go We and say goodbye… and we thought we’d get to see each other again soon. But we kept missing each other

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent