I Want to Sell Tee-Tee to Other People!!! - July 2013 TR *UPDATE 4/29 pg. 73*

[IheartDDuck]

I"m so behind but I want to comment on the updates I've read so far.

Oh my gosh, Ariel's outfit is scandalous!! Holy crap, that's showing a lot of skin. I mean, I get it but sheesh!

I totally get the same way about being late for a dining reservation but rightfully so! One time they actually GAVE OUR RESERVATION AWAY because we were 20 mins late. It wasn't even our fault, we got stuck on Splash Mountain. And the worst part was, it was for Liberty Tree Tavern! Not even someplace spectacular. Supposedly, they only hold it for 15 mins past but it looks like that wasn't the case with your reservation so GOOD!

Yay for alcohol in the MK!

No worries at all my dear!

Hahaha, I would say that Ariel's outfit is pretty accurate.

Wow, you actually had your reservation given away before?! I've never had that happen, but I'm paranoid about it.

I can't believe I have 4 more working days left.. We take Nanook to the kennel in the morning, pack up the car.... dad takes a snooze so he is fresh and then, and then, YEAH we pick you up at work and Wally World here we come

Three more for me now!

OMG it's been ages, but I finally finished your "tram doors" TR too! I'm so glad there's always more to read

Haha, no worries at all! There's always more to read with me.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Your trip is so close!

Hope you have another fun trip and can't wait to hear all about it!

I know, yours is too! I can't believe we're just missing each other!

Back at the dessert party- yeah the sugar free options should be plentiful and easy to find.

Great down day- I really need to have more pool time. One day I guess.


Looking forward to where moving day takes you.

AND



HAVE A GREAT AND MAGICAL TRIP!!!!!!!

I know! At least something available other than fruit. I mean jeez.

I highly recommend pool days for all!

Thanks, we will!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hi friends!

So originally I had planned on trying to update three times before I left for my trip. Obviously, that did not work out the way I had anticipated. Things just got a little bit busy with work and then this weekend we had our annual Employee Appreciation Dinner at work, so I had to get all purtied up for that.

That's my best friend Farrell and her husband Tony on the right, and on the left are our friends Mike and Jamie. And then yours truly in the middle.



Soooo, since I am leaving for Disney on Friday (eeeeeppppp!!!), I am going to give you a MEGA UPDATE!!!! And for everyone who's threads I am reading, I am going to try to get a little caught up before I leave, but if I'm unable to, I will catch up when I get back.

Onward!

Day 6 - Thursday July 9, 2013

Today we were moving from our lovely Treehouse Villa at Saratoga Springs to a Two Bedroom Villa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We had packed up a bit the night before to make the move easier for us all. The plan was to wake up a little bit on the early side, finish packing, and then move. Mom and Dad were going to take the luggage and check in, while the rest of us were going to head to the Animal Kingdom to start the day. They told us there was no point for all of us to go check in and they were right. It was easier for us to lower all the seats in the truck and load the luggage. Once at AKL, they would have bell services take all of the luggage and hold it for us. It was a pretty good plan if I do say so myself.

Everything was finished up by around 9:30am. A little bit later than we originally wanted, but that's okay.

I joked to Mom when they were getting ready to get into the car that based on the fact that we were going to have to wait for the Treehouse Villa bus and transfer to the Animal Kingdom bus at Saratoga, I thought they would get there before us.

Our bus from the Treehouse Villas to the Saratoga came pretty quickly. However, the bus to the Animal Kingdom did not.

So I took random pictures while we waited.



Joaquin continued to entertain us with his version of Thrift Shop. It gets stuck in your head people! "I'm gonna pass some gas, only got $2 for the bathroom...."

Soon we were on a major standing room only bus.



Mmmm....there's nothing like the smell of a bunch of people's B.O. at 10 o'clock in the morning.



We arrived at the park around 10:30am. Thankfully, none of us had passed out on the bus from the stinkiness.....

So of course we had to take obligatory scary pictures at the sign.





And wouldn't you know it....Mom and Dad were pulling up on a bus already. See, I told you they'd get there at like the same time as us! We waited for them at the sign so we could all go in together.

My Mom said that it was super quick, bell services just unloaded the stuff, they checked in and gave the phone number so they could text us when the room was ready, and then they were on their way.

Meanwhile....we had been on the slow bus to the Animal Kingdom.

Our first stop was......

Apparently the store.



Gavin had finally decided that he wanted a pin trading set, so Ommi said that she would buy it for him so he could trade some for the rest of the trip.

Joaquin found a cheetah that he liked, which will come in to play a little later. She didn't buy it for him at that exact moment, because we didn't want to be the ones responsible for carrying him around for the rest of the day.



While Ommi was buying Gavin his trading set, Jason also bought him a Duffy pin, because he's obsessed with Duffy. Actually, both of the boys became obsessed with Duffy on this trip.



It was a beautiful, clear day.



Our first stop on this day was It's Tough to be a Bug. Because there is NOTHING better than littles screaming in terror at the bugs all around them.



Of all the faces Joaquin makes, here he just looks like a creeper.



Oh, and Yeti was moonlighting as a monkey's booger.



We got some blurry bug eyed photos.





The boys loved it. The adults especially loved it when the kiddos jumped out of their seats and screamed like a bunch of idiots when the bugs left the theater.



Hehehe.

Duffy, Yeti, and Tigger were hanging out. Chillin' like the dudes they are.



At that point, we all decided that we were super hungry. We headed over to Yak and Yeti (counter service) to have lunch.

Oh Animal Kingdom. Such lovely food options, yet you insist on them being OUTSIDE!

I had a side of fried rice and two egg rolls.



Because I had someone to share with.



Mom had the honey chicken, Jason had sweet and sour chicken, Dad had beef lo mien, Jeni had the asian chicken sandwich and the boys had chicken tenders. It was really good as it usually is. I just really wish it was inside! It was July after all, we were kind of melting out there.

Continued in next post:

 

[IheartDDuck]

While we were eating, there was a family of ducks in the area. They were so cute! Not mean or aggressive at all, just chilling. The little ones kept running around trying to get food and the parents kept trying to corral them. It was so cool!





See the little one on the left? And the Mom is after him like "yo! Get back here!"









I'm obsessed with ducks if you hadn't noticed. Speaks to my choice in favorite character.

Since it was so incredibly hot, we decided to pick up fastpasses to Kali River Rapids. My general rule of thumb for me to ride this is:

1) It needs to be hot.
2) It needs to be hot.
3) Did I mention it needs to be hot?

Then we decided to head over to the Maharajah Jungle Trek to spend some time exploring the trail while waiting for our FP return time.



Gibbon! Jason loved gibbons when we were kids. We visited the San Diego Zoo when I was 7 and he was 11, and that was the first time we ever saw gibbons. So of course, Jason had to get a stuffed gibbon to commemorate the occasion. And what did he name him?

Gibby.

So original. Keep this in mind for something I'm going to tell you soon.

On a side note, I got a stuffed gorilla on that trip and named him....

Goril. I'm awesome!

Soon we were where we needed to be.



Where we will see Tigers, and Giant Bats, and Lovely Birds.

Oh my. (Kathy, I had to borrow!)

Yeti decided that he had to show us where to go. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it wasn't a vehicle to take his lazy butt anywhere.



Joaquin elected himself map reader and tour guide. I didn't see this ending well.





I knew it wasn't going to go well with him leading the way, because we ran into bats! Seriously dude. Seriously.



I'm teasing. Bats don't scare me.

As we were walking on the trek, Gavin had his first pin trade! The boy was itching to trade for something. We told him the rules of his pin trades were that he wasn't allowed to trade the Duffy that was purchased for him.

Commemorating his first trade.





And there's the first trade Pluto pin.



Thank goodness his tongue wasn't sticking out in that picture. I would have needed to insert a Miley Cyrus joke then.

Thar be tigers ahead!



Typical lazy cats.



Reminds me of someone else I know.



Popadon was being....Popadon.





Joaquin was still attempting to lead us on our way at this point. Now, he can read, but he's five. And I started to get nervous when I noticed the map was upside down....



Oh good, now it's right side up.



Continued in next post:

 

[IheartDDuck]

We got into the area with the birds, so prepare yourself for a bunch of pretty bird pictures! Well, the birds are pretty. Not necessarily the pictures.





This guy looked like he was going to come flying off of the rock and poke me in the eye.





After we got through the trek (we survived! Joaquin didn't get us totally lost!), I decided that I needed a water, so we stopped at a shop stand to get something.

Of course, Joaquin had to try on a hat.



At this point, the brownie paw was calling my name. It was one of the treats that was on my list of treats to try. I had been very much looking forward to it. On our way, we came across a PP photographer, so of course had to stop to commemorate our day.









And let's take a look at this sequence of close ups, shall we?







Kids got issues. I tell you.

FINALLY. We had arrived at the Kusafiri Coffee shop. Where I was able to get this beautiful thing.



Let me tell you. Whoever thought of putting buttercream frosting on a brownie was a genius. A.....freaking.....genius. Basically, I subscribe to the fact that anything that has buttercream on top of it is incredible.

Oh except pizza. That would be disgusting....

We all enjoyed our snacks. Basically we bought 3,000 brownie paws and shared them.

After our snack we noticed this.



Well who's going to pass up on a 10 minute wait for the safari?! Not this girl!

We were boarded in no time.



Had to take some hippo pictures, since Jeni LOVES them.





We got to see the baby elephant. So absolutely adorable!





Mingos!



Continued in next post:

 

[IheartDDuck]

This guy had the right idea. Just lay in some nice, cool mud when it's like 8,345 degrees outside.



That thing flat in the grass there? That's a cheetah. True story.



And that thing sticking up in the middle there. That's a lion. True story.



And that blurry thing there? Warthog. True story.



We headed to the Pangani Forest Trail after that hoping to see baby Lily. She was out, but she wasn't up to the shenanigans that she was up to when we saw her in November.



This big guy was just chilling up in the grass like a boss. And he totally knew it.





We were pretty much all melting at this point, and it was finally time for us to ride Kali River Rapids. I was actually looking forward to it.



How did I feel about getting soaked? Not exactly thrilled, but we had gotten the text our room was ready, so I knew that I would be able to leave right away and not be wet forever.



I'll tell you how this ride ends.....we got wet!

Shocking I knew. Bet you never saw that one coming.



Clearly not exactly thrilled to be wet.



Oh wait, Joaquin is genuinely irritated in this picture. Don't know what's up with that.



I was dying of thirst again so I picked up a vitamin water. And what did Jason pick up?

Ice. That he dumped directly down my back.

Now, under normal circumstances, this would not irritate me. But, this ice. This ice knew what it was doing. It went straight down my back, and into my underwear! For real.

Which then caused me to run around the entire area like a idiot shouting "it's in my underwear, it's in my underwear!"

Note to everyone. Underwear doesn't dry very well when it has ice in it.

However. The ice did give us an opportunity to do this.

(Video below)



Haha. Littles screaming. Always the best.

We headed to the front of the park, because we were going to head back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to get into our room. And....to get Joaquin the cheetah that he so desired at the beginning of this update.





Joaquin and I had this conversation after that.

Me: What are you going to name him.

Joaquin: Cheetah.

Me: Cheetah? Not anything else?

Joaquin: No....Cheetah.

Clearly this boy takes after his father and his Tee-Tee with his original naming skills.

Gibby. Goril. Cheetah. We know how to pick 'em!

Then it was off to our hotel. To get into a new room. And then it goes downhill from there......

Up next: What do you mean you "can't do that" because we're DVC?

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

I totally forgot about the ice. Joaquin was very excited about his Cheetah.......

 

[KatMark]

Are you done now? Seriously, every time I go back to see what I wanted to comment on, I find another update.

First, you are welcome to steal my title any time.

Why am I not surprised that your mom and dad arrived at AK at the same time as you?

Gavin looks really proud of his pin set.

Joaquin leading the way? I bet that was real interesting.

Love the family photopass pictures.

Mark refuses to go on Kali River Rapids; he HATES getting soaked. I can't even convince him to do it on the way out of the park.

That bear paw looks yummy; definitely have to look that up when we are there in September.

I love your description of the safari animals that are a little difficult seeing in your photos.

Okay, I'm sure there is more, but I can't remember right now.

I hope you have a truly magical and wonderful trip.

 

[CarolynK]

Nice cliffhanger!!

I know what you mean about eating outside at AK...we have always complained about the lack of indoor cooling places at the hottest park - AK!!

Poor Joaquin, he looks SO hot in all the pics...summer in WDW is brutal, but other than his red cheeks the rest of you look comfortable!

I hate getting water dumped on me unless I'm in a bathing suit, but I'm with you - knowing you're headed straight to the room to change, I can do that.

By the way, you look awesome in your work photo! Keep up the good work! And, have a wonderful trip!!!!!

 

[katt789]

MEGA UPDATE WHOOOOT

Props to ya for actually working out while in Disney! I was in the middle of a squat challenge one Sept and it was BRUTAL on my hips combined with all the walking in the parks #dancerprobs. Although I did hit up akl’s gym when I was down last week haha!

Great pool pics! Definitely a relaxing and awesome day in Disney, always so many things to do even without going to the parks, glad you guys had fun!!

Ah AKL, excited to read all about that majestic beauty!! And AK, I MISS THAT PLACE SO MUCH!! Ugh, no FOLK leaves no draw for that park when I’m on a short trip, and thus, makes me a very sad katt!

Still haven’t seen ittbab, and probably never will…Ahahaha little kids with the park maps always just MAKES MY DAY, like, they’re the ones in charge in that moment, and you just know it’s going to be interesting!!

Those faces are just amazing and priceless! And I am now going to have to try that brownie paw next time! 10 minute wait for the safari?! As if! Lol.

KRR is another that I haven’t done, it’s just never hot enough, or I don’t want to wander around all day being wet after doing it. Once I move down I’ll take a trip into AK JUST FOR IT! Oh no, this doesn’t sound like things are going great afterwards! Also, I was the child who named my bears: Pink Bear (she was clearly pink), White bear, and Jingly bear (he had a little like, rattle inside him) so, we’re on the same page there! Bahah!

 

[TinksThree]

Oh my geez! It was 11.17.13 and I was all proud "I am all caught up" and now it's, like, 2 months later!!! Seriously, I feel like I just got caught up! Ugh!! Your next trip is so close!! Woohoo!!!!

Reading the resort/relaxation day has me craving a nice long trip that isn't rushed and I can lounge around the pool!

And your family just has me cracking up constantly! Just so much fun!!!!

 

[shan23877]

Fantastic photo Danielle-you look amazing.

What a fun update. Once again Joaquin's faces are killing me. That kid is going to be a handful

Ugh KRR. It has to be really really hot for me to want to ride that one. Last time i did I had to wring out my clothes.

Love the gorillas, they are by far my faves. You got some great pics of them!

A 10 minute wait for the safari? Excellent!

Have a great trip!

 

[MEK]

Wow - holy mega update!

First, you know I love that picture of you. I just love your new hair! It's perfect.

OK - BO on the bus - not good. One of the reasons we rent a car.

Those tigers were really lounging in the heat. Gotta love cats. They know how to relax!

At first I did not realize Yeti was in the Monkey's nose and was like What????

Kids - whenever I try to take a group shot with my nephews included I end up with those same facial expressions. It takes like 30 shots to maybe get one serious shot.

We road Kali in October and we had ponchos. Denny never put up his hood. Big mistake - totally soaked right down the back of the poncho. Reminded me of your ice story - which did NOT sound fun AT all!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Aww look at you all fancied up. Beautiful. Nice to see that some companies still do things like this for their employees. No I'm not bitter, lol.

Ohh, you know it's going to be a hot day when people are already stinking that early.

Seriously, Tough to be a Bug is the most entertaining show in Disney to just watch and listen to the audience. So much fun!!!

Gibby and Goril... quite the creattive kids you were.

I don't know why more people don't take advantage of that Tree of Life photopass spot. It is so much better and private than the one where you enter.

WOW, 10 minute Safari wait in July??? I'm calling shenanigans!!

Uh oh... Downhill? AND we have to wait until you get back? SHENANIGANS!!!

HAVE A WONDERFUL TRIP BACK TO THE WORLD DANI!!!!
And say a special hello to Yeti's mountain!!

 

[courtneybelle]

PIN TRADING! Very good choice on Gavin's part. I'm so happy that you and your mom are trading this next trip.

Okay, so I've always thought Duffy was precious. I never particularly wanted one, though...but they recently announced that they're making a yellow Disney poncho for Duffy, and the yellow ponchos are a huge part of my childhood...so begins the debate of whether or not to buy myself a Duffy. Anyways, back to your regularly scheduled TR comments.

I also have that issue with AK QS. The hottest of the four parks and there are so few places to get some nice air conditioning while you eat.

glad Jason did a better job naming his kids than he did with his monkey, that's all I'm saying.

Those are awesome PP pics! Especially with Joaquin being Joaquin.

Oh man, that brownie paw looks gooooood. I skipped it in favor of the elephant cupcake but that may be a must-do next time.

Awww the baby elephant is one of my faves!

I hope you and the parents have SUCH a good time on your trip!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[Mom2m&k]

Love the update! Have a wonderful time on your trip...can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[marDgreen88]

Omg, the treehouse bus system sounds... yikesy.

Gotta love a morning at the Animal Kingdom! For the most part I was pretty good at stuffed animal names, but then again, I also have Racoony. So I feel ya.

According to IG, you were heading through Tennessee five hours ago. Getting closer! I hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[teekathepony]

Hope you're having a fantastic time on vacation!!!

Love the photo from the employee appreciation dinner, you look fantastic!

Holy mega update indeed!

Love the Animal Kingdom day, so much fun.
Gavin is so adorable with his Duffy pin!
I still have yet to do Ittbab... I just can't put myself in a tiny room full of bugs, imaginary or no.
Yum! Yak & Yeti, but I totally agree about the annoying outdoor seating. It's why we usually end up at Pizzafari.
I have roughly the same rules about Kali. It needs to be hot.
Why is this the first I'm hearing about that brownie paw? Holy cannoli, I have to get me one of those!

 

[MeMom]

Well who's going to pass up on a 10 minute wait for the safari?! Not this girl!

We were boarded in no time.



Mingos!

Not us, either. We are always ready for a safari!

So good to see our mingos.

Joaquin and I had this conversation after that.

Me: What are you going to name him.

Joaquin: Cheetah.

Me: Cheetah? Not anything else?

Joaquin: No....Cheetah.

Clearly this boy takes after his father and his Tee-Tee with his original naming skills.

Gibby. Goril. Cheetah. We know how to pick 'em!

Well, if you had girls, the names would either be similar - like Ellie, the elephant, or Cougie, the cougar - or they would have have Rainbow, Sparkle, Sunshine, or Glitter as part of the name.



Hope your Disney day today is most magical!

 

[sunnysideup3]

Great update! I love that Joaquin got into pin trading. My son started to eye it up on the end of our last trip and then got into it on our Disney cruise we just finished. It's a fun way to get kids to interact with others.

I love Yak and Yeti counter service and got the same meal you did on our last visit....yummmmmm. Agree about the lack of indoor seating, though.

Have a wonderful trip and hopefully it warms up for you! We just spent 4 pretty chilly (For Florida) days in Miami, so hopefully it's nicer soon!