I'm Not As Tink As You Kronk I Am - Final Thoughts on Mustard's January Trip to WDW

[mnmrmustard]

And just for a change of pace - MORE NEMO!

Wow, couldn't have planned that better ...finished just at the pic limit - whoohoo!

Next up, back to The Land of the Lost ....minus the Sleestack ;-]

 

[mnmrmustard]

We left Nemo and headed right around the bend to

We rode the Primeval Whirl 2 times, which was one of the high points of MiL's trip - she laughed out loud on it both times! I ran over to Dinosaur to get FPs while the rest of the fam spent some time on the midway. On my way over I caught a shot of our old pal Goofy

I came back and we all did a little more midway stuff. We won a small stuffed animal for each DD and DD11 continued her pin buying frenzy From there we headed to Dinosaur because our FP time was already available. The moms smartly decided not to go on the ride due to all the jolting movements on it, so DW and DD8 went through with their FPs while I caught a quick shot of the rest of the ladies out front.

We were getting hungry so we headed out through the bone archway

and on to a place that I had been really looking forward to eating at - the Flame Tree BBQ!! I think it was Carla who first talked about it and my mouth had been watering over it for months - lol It lived up to its reputation and was a wonderful meal - everybody loved it including the girls.

I finished up early and still had everyone's tickets so I hoofed it around the lagoon to pick up FPs for EE. On the way I snapped a couple of shots - ha-ha

The lagoon

A few EE shots

More lagoon

The monkey temple

and the alters/shrines

We all gathered back together and caught some street performers (sorry, I didn't catch their names but they were good).

We strolled back towards Everest and DW insisted on taking a pic of me pulling the cart ...too bad the thing was bolted down - made me look a bit silly. But then again that may have just been the tie-dye and Mickey ears

Then she took a shot of me with the rest of the ladies - sis was having sunglasses issues

It being after lunch we of course had to take a quick potty break. Here's a random shot of an upper terrace above the bathrooms. The Imagineers really did some good attention to detail at this park.

Then it was on to Expedition Everest - whoohoo!

 

[jordanyosh]

AK has the best theming in my opinion.

Flame Tree BBQ...mmm...I'll have to pulled pork sandwich w/ the spicy BBQ sauce please.

Have you had the ribs? I haven't had the chance to try them yet.

Can never have too many Nemo pix....

Primeval Hurl....I'm surprised MIL rode 2x....that's cool.

 

[scottny]

Looks like a lot of fun was had at AK.

I love taking pics there. I could do it all day long.

I will definitely do Nemo, it looks fantastic.

 

[mnmrmustard]

AK has the best theming in my opinion.

Flame Tree BBQ...mmm...I'll have to pulled pork sandwich w/ the spicy BBQ sauce please.

Have you had the ribs? I haven't had the chance to try them yet.

Can never have too many Nemo pix....

Primeval Hurl....I'm surprised MIL rode 2x....that's cool.

I agree, it really transports you to other parts of the world - very immersive. Mmmm, yes indeed my friend. I had the pulled pork w/spicy sauce too! DW had the ribs and loved them

Yay Nemo! And yes, MiL LOVED it - it was so cool to watch her laughing so freely on it

Looks like a lot of fun was had at AK.

I love taking pics there. I could do it all day long.

I will definitely do Nemo, it looks fantastic.

Yes, it was a great day - one of the best of our trip. It seemed to go by so fast but every moment was a good one. I want to spend a day and a half there next time and really look at everything.

Oh yes, gotta do Nemo, it was such a great retelling of the story and so very lively.

 

[mnmrmustard]

We got there and my mom decided to give it a try, but MiL was done with thrill rides for the day so sat it out. The FP lane took us all the way up to the final room before the boarding area. I took a few quick shots as we strolled in.

Bean was really excited about this one

We loaded up with DW and my mom in front, Bean and I in the next car, and Pumpkin Girl and Sis behind us. I got a quick shot of DW and mom just before we rolled out

I had watched the ride and decided I could chance getting some ride shots

Up the first set of hills

Into the mountain temple

The mountain peak looms above us

And what a VIEW! Resort on the left and you can just make out ToT on the right!

Ye ole Tree of Life

Into the tunnel

And Oh NOOO! What happened to the tracks!

The monster is behind us!

And here we are captured for posterity. First DW and my mom with Bean and I, with me clutching my dear camera ;D

And then Sis and DD11 in the front of the next car

The ride was a blast and standby was only 15 minutes so we went right back around - w00t!

 

[mnmrmustard]

They were in a hurry to get back in

But soon enough I caught back up to them and was able to catch this shot of my ladies :-]

Glad I don't have to do the dishes

He's doing the Wolly Bully

Scarecrow Tibetan style

That gear be toast!

Bunch o funky masks

More fun stuff

Looks like some nasty athlete's foot

Sis snagged a shot of me getting a shot of her

Fellow expeditioners depart

Now this time I'd gotten the lay of the land so I was ready to get some really interesting shots The clouds were perfect to give it that high mountain feel.

Coming up

Back we go!

Next up - the Yeti reveals himself!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Here's where the photo geek in me kicks in. The last time through I got a feel for the distance things were going to be away from my camera and the amount of light and set things to manual with fingers crossed. First, some better silhouette captures:

And here is The Big Tamale! SPOILER WARNING - YETI REVEALED! If you don't want to know what this furry guy really looks like scroll quickly past ;-]

Cute, ain't he?

We got ourselves together and strolled back the way we came and after a quick stop for ice cream, made out way to the parade route. They had most of the ropes up already and we had a quick discussion about it and decided that instead of watching the parade we'd hit the Kilimanjaro Safaris to avoid lines. We hi-tailed it down there with me stopping quickly for one more pic of the Tree

We got there and were taken up to the wheelchair-accessible loading area and after several busses went by one finally pulled up for us. We loaded up and off we went!

First stop, and anti-social rhino

Hippos

Birds

More hippos

Some crocs I wouldn't want anywhere near my feet

A funky tree

Giraffes

Which way???

These guys were either bashful or lazy

And a little bit of everything

Much more Safar fun to come!

 

[mnmrmustard]

It is cool that they set up the feeding for these guys near the roads so we can get a good look at them

The horns on these guys were HUGE!!!

And elephant says "hi" while we cross the shaky bridge

More funky trees

And some purdy flamingos

I believe these were ostrich eggs

Cats lounging

a Black Rhino ignoring us

Followed by the Queen and King of the jungle

sings "When I was a young warthog!"

Protector of the eggs

And a very special treat with an up close encounter with a baby rhino - whoohoo!

Coming up we'll see the end of the safari and a special surprise!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Mama rhino was following close behind baby

The poacher's camp - boooooo!

A wee waterfall

That was about it. We rolled back in and got ourselves together. On the trail back towards the main walkway I snapped a shot of what I think is a dissected termite mound

We rounded the corner and what did we see? The parade just coming into view. And the roped off area in front of the safari was still open!!!! The Disney mojo had definitely swung in our favor after our Epcot weirdness :-]

King Louie says a personal hello to MiL

And then gives hello hugs to the girls

Very cool costuming

Some lucky guests and Rafiki

more random cool parade stuff

Then comes our buddies Chip and Dale

MiL gets a very special hello. I tell you, she was the Belle of this parade and got lots of hellos and hugs n such :-]

Of course the girls got their turn too

Minnie comes rolling by

More parading to come!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Behind Minnie were some more of those rolling puppets. I had seen them on a Travel Channel special and had been looking forward to seeing them in person. They were unique and amazing things

One, two, cha-cha-cha!

A country bear says "hi" to both moms

But I was swinging my camera back and forth and missed the girls hugs with him

On came Goofy

Followed by more cool rolling puppets and floats

The girls were captivated

...but I got Bean's attention just long enough for this shot

Timon was quick, but Bean was quicker and latched on to him in a BIG HUG!

And here comes Donald - see Dan, got him and his boat

Pluto was quite the dancer

Well if you haven't hit picture overload tune in for the end of the parade and our trek towards the other exit and our dinner reses ;-]

 

[jordanyosh]

The theming of Everest is awesome. I wonder if it is lost on the average Disney tourist?

Great parade mojo!!!!!

It looks like the animals were out in full force on the safari. Safari mojo!!!!!

Like you said, it seems this day made up for the Epcot bummer....

Where else will you see smiles on your daughters like that?

 

[mnmrmustard]

Pluto gettin' down and funky!

And the parade comes to and end as Mickey rolls by says goodbye. It was a great parade with lots of special little moments. I was so very happy it worked out to see it :-]

Everyone was slowly making their way towards the exit. I shot a few random pics along the way.

We made it back to the Tree of Life and a Photopass photographer was nice enough to take this shot of all of us with my camera.

We made out way back to the front of the park and turned in the girl's double stroller. But we didn't make for the exit, instead we went across to the special exit that leads into the Rainforest Cafe - it was time for some ADRs! Here's a few shots from the private grotto before you go into the gift shop area of the cafe

We then moved inside and I snapped some random shots of the fishies and other interesting creatures in the shop

I walked up to the counter and checked in. They called us in within 5 minutes, I was very impressed. I did the rounds and took some shots inside

we were seated adjacent to the bar, which had a very cool fish tank theme

The food was wonderful and plentiful and the drinks were flavorful and well-mixed. After I had some food in me the girls and I strolled around and took a few more shots

The fish were just amazing

More fishies and mechanical animal friends to come :-]

 

[mnmrmustard]

Yes, I liked the fish ...hehehe

Everybody finished eating and we said our goodbyes to my sister, who was flying back to Georgia that evening. There were lots of hugs and more hugs on top of that and then my mom and pop left to take her to MCO for her flight. The res of the ladies hit the gift shop while the girls and I took the opportunity to make one more round of the place and shoot some more

We then joined them in the gift shop and I had a conversation with a tree

...and then yes, took a couple more fish shots - lolol

The girls and I got bored and left DW and MiL to finish their purchases while we went outside. The place was COMPLETELY deserted - nobody at all out there. There were still a few guests in the restaurant but nobody outdoors. I grabbed a shot of the girls with a froggy friend.

And then turned my lens to a cool water feature

 

[mnmrmustard]

Just a few more random shots outside the cafe

Good Night AK - you gave us a Wonderful Day!

And out we went to a nearly empty parking lot. It was a very peaceful end to a great day.

We drove back to the resort and did the standard showers and such. Then we sat down with the DDs ...it was decision time on our "extra" Disney day. I had planned it so we would start and end our trip at MK, and would hit the other parks in between. Our day at AK 'finished the rounds' you might say. We had told the girls they could choose what park (minus MK) they wanted to go back to for a second day.

No big surprise they each wanted to go to a different park. My parents and MiL were both going to sit this one out so it was just a parents/daughters day. DD8 wanted to go with me and DD11 wanted a day with mom. So it looks like we were splitting up.

Tune in next time to see which park each girl chose. Any guesses?

 

[mnmrmustard]

The theming of Everest is awesome. I wonder if it is lost on the average Disney tourist?

Great parade mojo!!!!!

It looks like the animals were out in full force on the safari. Safari mojo!!!!!

Like you said, it seems this day made up for the Epcot bummer....

Where else will you see smiles on your daughters like that?

I think the theming may be lost on many who go there, especially when they're doing the "run to the next attraction" bit. AK is just one that you have to take at a leisurely pace and soak it all in.

This was my first safari so I didn't know if it was a good turnout or not. I'm guessing from your comment that it was a good one - whoohoo

Yes it did, it turned out to be one of our best days there. And they were beaming and didn't end the day being overly tired either.

Thanks for stoppin' by bud

 

[earthfaries]

Wow, great updates!!!

You take absolutely amazing pictures you know.

What a fun day at AK and Rainforest Cafe was a great way to end it. Glad you like it. We'll be eating there in Sept. for the first time and I'm really excited about it.

I can't wait for the next installments! I wonder where everyone will be going...

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

How the heck did you get all those pictures on EE? I wouldn't have been able to hold the camera still long enough to get those.

You got lots of great pics! We'll have to try Finding Nemo next time. You got to see lots of animals, too. And good choice on RFC. I've always liked that place.

 

[scottny]

OMG. that was alot of pics. thank god for cable connections.

Loved all the pics. E were really good.

The parade pics were great. Loved the attention the girls got.

RFC looked nice, never been to that one.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Wow, great updates!!!

You take absolutely amazing pictures you know.

What a fun day at AK and Rainforest Cafe was a great way to end it. Glad you like it. We'll be eating there in Sept. for the first time and I'm really excited about it.

I can't wait for the next installments! I wonder where everyone will be going...

I sometimes wonder if I take too many pics and have scared everybody away - lol. It was a fun day and a great end to it. Oh cool - I know you'll have a good time eating there

The next installment is a bit more tricky since there are two different stories to tell at two different parks. I'm getting the pictures together for my part of it now - probably post it this weekend

How the heck did you get all those pictures on EE? I wouldn't have been able to hold the camera still long enough to get those.

You got lots of great pics! We'll have to try Finding Nemo next time. You got to see lots of animals, too. And good choice on RFC. I've always liked that place.

I kept a good grip on the camera and had a really fast lens. On the fast bits I just held onto the camera by its lens (as seem in the pic of me & Bean) and held on with the other hand

Thank you, and yes - Finding Nemo was pretty cool and very enjoyable. I wasn't sure if I'd seen a good amount of animals, but everybody says we did, so yay! Rainforest was cool - we had ended our trip to DL in 2005 by going to the one at Cali's DTD so we had to go to one at WDW.

OMG. that was alot of pics. thank god for cable connections.

Loved all the pics. E were really good.

The parade pics were great. Loved the attention the girls got.

RFC looked nice, never been to that one.

Yeah, sorry - I'm a bit of a nut with the pictures. The parade was just a wonderful accident that we happened into. But I guess those are some of the best experiences ...those unexpected ones.

I've heard that the RFC at DTD is better, but we had a great time/great food at the one at AK. I'm glad we did it, it was much better than leaving the park and having to drive somewhere else for food.