If only Tinker Bell was related to the tooth fairy... (FINISHED 4/26)

[FreezinRafiki]

I'm obviously not the only one that is bored out of his mind this afternoon.

Nate's not bored. This is his regularly scheduled hijack attempt.

 

[Zeebs]

Can I read along,

I like crickets both the insect and the game if that helps

Kirsten

 

[Dsnygrl1205]

Just wanted to let you know I'm still here! Waiting patiently for an update!

 

[Disney Commando]

Why yes Don. I did find out the hard way... I've been called out on that a time or two. LOL

You'd like that wouldn't you!

Nate let me borrow these guys for a while- I hope they don't mess up the furniture!

I hope they don't Mutate into the scarer Camelback cricket breed, during the wait

 

[dvczerfs]

dont pick on don, hes busy "killing spiders" at home lately.

 

[Emma's Dad]

CRUD!

Where's the Orkin man when you need him? I'm sorry for no update yet again. As I am writing this I am sitting in a bed at Great Wolf Lodge... working up the energy to take DD to breakfast and then the waterpark. Spent most of yesterday waterlogged
Sooooooo... my plan is to get an update posted by Sunday night. Don't say I didn't warn everyone about my slowness

 

[FreezinRafiki]

CRUD!

Where's the Orkin man when you need him? I'm sorry for no update yet again. As I am writing this I am sitting in a bed at Great Wolf Lodge... working up the energy to take DD to breakfast and then the waterpark. Spent most of yesterday waterlogged
Sooooooo... my plan is to get an update posted by Sunday night. Don't say I didn't warn everyone about my slowness

That's awesome! I can't wait! I'm so excited! But...
Which Sunday were you talking about?

 

[afwdwfan]

That's awesome! I can't wait! I'm so excited! But...
Which Sunday were you talking about?

The 14th...








8/14/11

 

[that's nice]

 

[trennr]

 

[FreezinRafiki]

 

[dvczerfs]

dons five days late with his sunday night update. nobody gets to kill that many spiders!!! hope everythings ok.

 

[carissanboys]

I decided to stop by and was feeling a bit guilty about not reading your updates. Silly me - there haven't been any!

 

[Emma's Dad]

Ughhhhh... bad week... still sick... been down for days. Haven't even been on the Dad's club thread either. Trying to get back into the swing of things today!

 

[carissanboys]

Ughhhhh... bad week... still sick... been down for days. Haven't even been on the Dad's club thread either. Trying to get back into the swing of things today!

Get better, eh! The weather is too beautiful to be sick.

 

[Emma's Dad]

Thanks, Carissa! I know, right? I soooooo wanted to get the outdoor Christmas stuff put up, but couldn't even muster that much energy. Next weekend is only supposed to be in the upper 40's/lower 50's. Yuck

 

[misstheworld]

Hi Emma's Dad! Just wanted to say hello to another Virginian! DH and I live in Newport News.

 

[Emma's Dad]

Hi Emma's Dad! Just wanted to say hello to another Virginian! DH and I live in Newport News.

Welcome! I pass by you guys quite often in the summer... going to BG Nice to have another local in here

 

[Emma's Dad]

We stroll out through the front doors of the lobby and take a left over to Bus Stop 1. This was one of those rare occasions when we were able to make use of a bench while we waited for the buses to sweep around. The benches are normally full here at Bus Stop 1 due to the number of people that frequent El Centro. Of course, we just happen to show up at the right time this morning . About 10 minutes after we sit down our ride appears... Animal Kingdom, here we come! (Congratulations, Barry! )

This was not my first choice of a theme park for day one. Actually, I'd rather just pass up this theme park altogether. BUT... I was out-voted. So instead of an entire day at AK during the week we figured why not just get it out of the way. For those who have read my previous TR you will understand why I say this. For those AK lovers out there... I mean no disrespect... this just isn't my favorite Disney theme park. But... that's like saying vanilla ice cream isn't my favorite kind of ice cream... KWIM?

Anyway... it doesn't take long to get from CSR to AK. Maybe 10-15 minutes? Never really timed the travel from resort to park. We just enjoy each others company and let the professionals transport us to where we are going. Since volume was light this morning, we were able to score seats with plenty left over.

After the bus drops us off at the station, we make our way towards the entrance to Animal Kingdom. Before we get to the turnstiles, there is a shopping "hut" out front. Time to look for sunglasses! Took about 5 minutes of looking around but I was able to find a basic pair that would work for about $15. What I found most annoying about the majority of the pairs of glasses I looked at was the fact they put very small writing in the top corner of the lens. That drives me insane! Thank God I found a pair that didn't have it. Yes... I'm picky. Just ask DW

The next item on our list of things to do is to get our Disney Reward Card from member services. We had racked up some reward dollars from the Disney VISA card and decided we'd wait until we got to the park to get the reward card. OK... so when I say "racked up" I'm not talking about numbers like you'd see when playing Space Ranger Spin. But enough to get a souvenir or two. So as we approach the turnstiles I begin looking for my KTTW card. Ummm... ok... I know I just had it... I used it to buy the sunglasses. Wallet? No. Pockets? No. Gotta be in the backpack... NOPE! DW? No. Great. Just what I need right now. Don't panic... just trace your steps back, Don (yeah.. I talk to myself a lot ). Leaving DW and DD at the turnstiles I make like a hound dog and follow the path to the store. Nothing on the way there. The CM who sold the glasses to me was still at the register when I approached... and she must have recognized me because she had this silly smirk on her face like "I knew you'd be back". Thank God... she had the card. Apparently, I missed my pocket and it had dropped to the ground at the register. Another guest had picked it up and handed it to her a few minutes after I left. Whew! Another crisis averted.

I trod on back to the turnstiles with the card in my hand and meet up with the family on the other side. So once we get through the turnstiles we take an immediate left and enter guest relations. Hadn't ever been in that place before. Not that there is much to it, but it was still an experience. DD got a kick out of the old-school rotary phone in the corner. Should have taken a picture of her with it! They have all sorts of other stuff in there, too. We only needed to wait for a few moments as there were several CMs behind the counter and a guest was just finishing up. Didn't take long for the CM to type in our information and hand us the material we needed including the card and phone number to call and activate the card. Since we were right there I figured I might as well go ahead and activate the card. After that was done, I asked the CM for a map for the park. With all that done we exit guest relations to begin our AK adventure!

We take a few steps out of guest relations and stop to take a gander at the map. Wow... haven't used that saying in a while. is "gander" still in the dictionary? (Hehe... Wikipedia just got a few hits, I'm sure) Anyway... I had too many things in my hands so I start putting everything in their proper places. However, it was during this cleanup process when I realized... the rewards card is missing! Seriously... what the peanut butter is going on here! So I go through the routine again... Wallet? No. Pockets? No. Gotta be in the backpack... NOPE! DW? No. So I turn around and go back in to guest relations. Its amazing the similarity in the faces between the CM from whom I retrieved my KTTW and the current CM who "knew" I'd be back. Low and behold I left the card on the counter. To think I'm only 38 years old... wow.

Seriously... at this point I'm thinking what else is going to happen. I even did a thorough inventory to make sure I hadn't lost any other valuable items. Everything was present and accounted for. Well... except for a little pride.

The first item on the to do list is to get some food. We have all been looking forward to trying Flame Tree Barbecue. And since we haven't had much to eat since the wee morning hours, it was sounding even better at this time. Here are some pictures along the way:







The food at Flame Tree Barbecue was VERY good. While I'm not a barbecue fanatic, I do enjoy the cuisine occasionally. The only negative I would give it is the portion size. Of all the places to eat at WDW I believe this was the smallest portion I ever received. Which is fine by me... because I usually stuff myself so much that I'm not very comfortable walking around for the next several hours. Either that or I feel guilty for wasting the extra food. yeah.. I'm preaching to the choir here. Moving along....

There were several of these guys running around the brush looking for some small morsels as we ate... DD thought they were adorable:



From FTB, the decision was made to go to Kilimanjoro Safaris. At this point I think I've taken long enough to get to this installment... sooooo.... I'll leave you hanging here for a "while".......

Day 1, Part 4: "Pin Trading!"

 

[afwdwfan]

WOOHOO!!! It's a Thanksgiving miracle!

Animal Kingdom, here we come! (Congratulations, Barry! )

Wow, I completely forgot we guessed which park you were going to. Maybe because it has been almost a month since the last update.

I mean no disrespect... this just isn't my favorite Disney theme park. But... that's like saying vanilla ice cream isn't my favorite kind of ice cream... KWIM?

Absolutely, I agree 100%. Still worth a visit every time though for Everest.

(Hehe... Wikipedia just got a few hits, I'm sure)

Nope, Dictionary.com

Seriously... at this point I'm thinking what else is going to happen. I even did a thorough inventory to make sure I hadn't lost any other valuable items. Everything was present and accounted for. Well... except for a little pride.

That isn't a fun way to start things off. I didn't realize you had pride to lose though.

From FTB, the decision was made to go to Kilimanjoro Safaris. At this point I think I've taken long enough to get to this installment... sooooo.... I'll leave you hanging here for a "while".......

I won't hold my breath... Very nice update though, can't wait to see more!