Juan says "BAAAA!" - 12/24 - Our last few Disney hours. COMPLETE

[wdwgirl03]

Great update! I love Dinoland. And Pizzafari is one of my favorites.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

What a fun day you had so far in AK! I love the FOTLK show. It's so mesmerizing!

 

[D!SNEYgram]

Great trip report. Love all the pictures.

 

[Stefy]

Am all caught up

Am loving reading everything so far, Henry is so cute, bless him

We stayed at CSR last year and it is a lovely resort, but I must admit we didn't get a Disney Magic vibe from it Probably because at the time all resorts were full to capacity and there were Pop Warner kids everywhere!

I am glad you love the resort though and your pics bring back memories

AKL sounded so quiet, 10mins for EE!!! That is awesome and getting into the Lion King just before starting time and still seats available is amazing.

Can't wait to read more

 

[luvfigment]

What a great update! Looks like Henry was having tons of fun in the Boneyard.

How great was it only having to wait 10 mins for EE?!? How were you liking CSR?

 

[Charleston Princess]

Yeay! I finally had a chance to sit down, read, and thoroughly enjoy your update!

We've never seen the sandbox in the Boneyard either -- I guess we haven't wandered far enough inside.

Woo hoo for a ten-minute wait for Everest! That's awesome!

Mmmm, Pizzafari's food looks as yummy as always!

 

[jenseib]

It's so fun to hear about what Disney used to look like! I'm excited now that we go every year to see what will change over the next 10 years.

Claire WOULD love it! Did you spend time at Honey I Shrunk the Kids? That one is even more appealing probably...I'm sure it won't be quite as easy to tear Henry away as he gets older!

Thank you!! Those rosy cheeks are pretty cute, aren't they? He was so excited and running around in there!

Not with Claire. I avoided it as well. Well in 2007 we didn;t do HS, 2008 she got sick on HS day, so she was only there a short time and I took her back to our room, and this past year we were busy most of that day, but I still avoided it. LOL! I did go with my older two when the ywere little, but I just hate stuff like that. THEY LOVED it, but me not so much. LOL! About IMPOSSIBLE to get them to leave.

 

[OhMari]

You take the best pictures, and your little guy is growing up so fast. He doesn't have that baby look anymore.
I'm glad you are at peace with your decision to be a SAHM, it is something that is very hard to make.

Our summer in Minnesota has NOT been warm. It hasn’t even creeped above 90 degrees more than a couple of days. I was looking forward to real heat finally!

I was having a really hard time the last few weeks with summer ending and I was really blue about fall/winter approaching. My boss finally found a prayer for me, and it helped me get out of my funk. It was wierd, because I waited and waited for summer, and like you said, it never really happened and I couldn't put myself past waiting.
I'm glad we had a decent September. We are going to Warren WI-cranberry town on I-94. They are having their cranberry festival-parade, art/craft show etc., so hopefully that will put me in a Fall mood too.

 

[brookelizabeth]

When we left off we were munching our lunch of Pizzafari, taking full advantage of the lovely technology called “air conditioning”. Eventually, we peeled ourselves away from the tables and moseyed outside.

We took the longest possible time of leaving Pizzafari…I decided to change Henry. Joe waited outside in the little entry way.

When we got outside, Joe decided to go in and use the restroom.

Henry had a good time running around, climbing up on the benches and back down while we waited for Da da.


The minute Joe came back, Henry got “the look”, all parents of a child in diapers know it, kinda staring off in space, not saying anything-face turning slightly red …. And yep, he filled his pants. Sooooo….back inside!

I decided to take pics of the area while I waited for Joe and Henry to return from the diaper change...

Guess who I was thinking of when I saw this?

I got kinda a funny look from the family sitting on the bench across from me when I started taking pictures of the wall...but check out that detail!

I'm sure they thought I was crazy when I took several pictures of the ground trying to get just the right angle I wanted...

I cannot recall what our plans were directly after lunch, but not very far into our walk we realized Henry was fast asleep – so again, plans were adjusted and Joe and I opted to head into Africa with our only agenda item to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere.

I think these doors are super cool

On the bridge...I took this for the "Disney Surfaces" thread - I should really get over there and post it!

Another surface...love that detail that makes the bridge look old.

A bit washed out, but at least it captures some of the beauty!

This would be a good spot for the parade.

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

We soon found ourselves at the Pangani Forest Trail

and I encouraged that we go check it out. Joe is not a big fan of this sort of thing…due to his eye condition he cannot enjoy the animals unless they are very close up. But he humored me and onward we went!

We didn’t see a whole lot, being it was after lunch

Another surface

Soooo pretty

Okapi heinies

I remember commenting about how WDW doesn't have to clean the entrances and exits to these little buildings because the natural debris from the trees just adds to the atmosphere that you are out in the bush!

See the little birds?

Gorilla heiny!

Tickle, tickle!

Then we got to the gorillas outside...

At first we didn't see much...then this guy popped up

A couple more!

He moved more into view...the Cast Member here told us all these gorillas are males, and bachelors. This guy is the youngest of the pack, so he gets picked on, even though he is no longer the smallest.

I was enchanted as I saw them move around! I could have stood there watching for an hour.

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

After the trail,

Hey look, it's the backside of water!

we shopped just a bit.

cuuuuuuuuute.

Joe tried on one of those hats, and due to the large heads that run in our family, it of course didn't fit. A CM saw him and insisted that he go in the back and see if they have a larger one. It took quite a bit of convincing that we weren't looking to buy one, just goofing around. I thought I had a pic of Joe with the too small hat, but perhaps he deleted it behind my back!

I have a feeling someday Henry will want one of these

Yes, that's a light fixture!!!

And then wandered on...

The heat was getting to me again despite my best efforts with the mini fan, so I stopped to get a strawberry bar and before I could even remember to take a picture, my natural instincts took over and nabbed a bite in hopes of cooling down.

Not an Itzakadoozie, but still good! (They didn't have any Itzakadoozies!)

Right next to the little cart-o-frozen-goodies were some misting fans.

Oh yes.

I could have also stood around here for an hour!

Pictures from my view point under the misting fan:

Flights of Wonder

During our meanderings throughout the park, we noticed little "trails" that just went slight off the main pathway and through the jungle area. They seemed inviting, but we didn't try them out. We took note of them for December though when we expect crowds to be close to insanity, these little side trails might even be quicker than taking the normal path during that time!

As we passed EE, we noted a FIVE minute wait. Needless to say, I went on again!

After walking for a few minutes and discussing our plans, since Henry was still sleeping we opted to hit up Dinosaur. We didn’t have a Fast Pass, but were hoping the wait time wouldn’t be absurdly long.

And much to our delight, it wasn’t! A 10 minute wait time was posted, Joe went on first while I chilled in the seating area outside the gift shop. I remember I put my foot up here…I wasn’t in pain, but I wanted to nurse it if I could-just in case.

Still snoozin'

Joe was back very quickly-turns out he literally walked right into a ride vehicle. Score!

My turn!

I screamed!

So, what’s new?

That last dinosaur that is above your head always freaks me out! I always seem to forget about him….

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

When I came back outside, Henry had woken up.

We wandered through Dinoland again…

Still a bit tired.

And I think we took the longest route possible to get to our next stop, the Safari....but we did spot some ducks on they way which made Henry sit right up in his stroller in excitement!

The parade was about to start by this time, which meant literally NO wait for the Safari!

"Mommy! Truck! Truck!"

This was the best safari we have ever had. Quite a few animals were awake and moving around-we even had a few that were very close to the jeep.

Does this giraffe look familiar to anyone? She wasn't quite as curious that day as she was on MeMom's and CP's recent safari rides!

My favorite moment of this safari was seeing this elephant.

He just stood there watching us. Our guide put on some African music during this time, which just completely set the atmosphere. Do they do that usually when you see animals that closely?

Continued in next post

 

[brookelizabeth]

Continued from previous post

Apparently something was very tasty on the side of the road there. I could have reached my hand down and petted him…

After we helped save Little Red we landed in a gift shop. Big surprise!

Henry found a Pluto.

We planned on buying him a Pluto this trip to match his Mickey and Donald, and he was awfully attached to this safari Pluto, so it became ours.

Isn't he adorable???

After the bit of shopping we ran straight into the parade. Oh, darn! Okay, twist my arm, I’ll watch.

Henry was in awe just as much this time as he was back in January. Pluto came by-and Henry was still clutching his new Pluto toy…

It was a great moment that left my little boy with a HUGE grin on his face!!

Up next: Home sweet home.

 

[KristiMc]

Great update Brooke!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Okay...how have I missed all these TRs starting? Oh, that's right....I'm working my behind off at work....

Well I just used your handy links and am now caught up.

Pizzafari-you may have answered this, but did you enjoy your sandwich. It's the one thing on the menu there that I like. I also don't mind their breadsticks. Don't you love the detailing in this restaurant?

AK=the hottest park EVER.

Oh, sickness..maybe I gave you the Swine over the internet....

Hey Jordan!! Good to see you. I'm sure I'm missing a dozen reports starting up too, I can't even keep caught up on what I am subscribed to though!

Pizzafari sammich....it was okay.... most people LOVE it from what I read here on the DIS, but it was too cheesy for me. I'm that weird girl who doesn't like cheese very much. I would order it again, but ask for less cheese. With that said, I ate almost the whole thing! I should have tried their breadsticks, I'm a big breadstick fan. I do love the themeing in there! All the different rooms and little details.

And air conditioning.

about the Swine Flu over the internet...! Are you over it 100% by now??

Great update! I love Dinoland. And Pizzafari is one of my favorites.

I love Dinoland too! Some people seem to not like, but I think it's kinda neat and I like the story behind it.

What a fun day you had so far in AK! I love the FOTLK show. It's so mesmerizing!

It was a great day in AK! Despite me writing about the heat, I really didn't mind it overall because it has been so cool in MN. And AK is always SO hot anyway. FOTLK was great! I'm sure I was grinning for the entire show!

Great trip report. Love all the pictures.

Thank you!!! Lots more pics in this last update...so many I had to do the update in 5 parts!

Am all caught up

Am loving reading everything so far, Henry is so cute, bless him

We stayed at CSR last year and it is a lovely resort, but I must admit we didn't get a Disney Magic vibe from it Probably because at the time all resorts were full to capacity and there were Pop Warner kids everywhere!

I am glad you love the resort though and your pics bring back memories

AKL sounded so quiet, 10mins for EE!!! That is awesome and getting into the Lion King just before starting time and still seats available is amazing.

Can't wait to read more

Hello!!!! Thank you for reading!! And thank you for the compliment about Henry.

Oh, the Pop Warner kids everywhere probably would have done me in too. I completely understand!!

The park was so empty-it was wonderful! I think on our past two trips (if I remember correctly) we always hit AK on a busy day. This trip was much different.

What a great update! Looks like Henry was having tons of fun in the Boneyard.

How great was it only having to wait 10 mins for EE?!? How were you liking CSR?

The wait for EE was excellent!! Both times!

We really enjoyed CSR overall. I would stay there again! There were a few things that weren't great, but you get that at just about any resort. The grounds are beautiful and every CM we encountered was helpful and friendly-and the bus service was superb!

Yeay! I finally had a chance to sit down, read, and thoroughly enjoy your update!

We've never seen the sandbox in the Boneyard either -- I guess we haven't wandered far enough inside.

Woo hoo for a ten-minute wait for Everest! That's awesome!

Mmmm, Pizzafari's food looks as yummy as always!

I suppose Chelsea and Connor are pretty much to the age where they skip right over the Boneyard...it will be a strange trip for us when we don't hit up the series of playgrounds!

The wait for EE both times was just awesome. I've never walked through the actual queue before, there was SO much to look at - I really should have taken advantage and slowed down a bit and taken it in....

Not with Claire. I avoided it as well. Well in 2007 we didn;t do HS, 2008 she got sick on HS day, so she was only there a short time and I took her back to our room, and this past year we were busy most of that day, but I still avoided it. LOL! I did go with my older two when the ywere little, but I just hate stuff like that. THEY LOVED it, but me not so much. LOL! About IMPOSSIBLE to get them to leave.

Claire will probably spy it some upcoming trip and figure out what she's missing! It's so stinkin' hot in there...it will be much easier when we know Henry can fend for himself and run up and down stairs.

You take the best pictures, and your little guy is growing up so fast. He doesn't have that baby look anymore.
I'm glad you are at peace with your decision to be a SAHM, it is something that is very hard to make.

I was having a really hard time the last few weeks with summer ending and I was really blue about fall/winter approaching. My boss finally found a prayer for me, and it helped me get out of my funk. It was wierd, because I waited and waited for summer, and like you said, it never really happened and I couldn't put myself past waiting.
I'm glad we had a decent September. We are going to Warren WI-cranberry town on I-94. They are having their cranberry festival-parade, art/craft show etc., so hopefully that will put me in a Fall mood too.

Welcome!! Thank you! Henry is growing up VERY quickly. And he looks even older now.

I need to get into that fall mood, I'm still trying to grasp onto summer. September has been really very nice though. We are doing a pumpkin patch/farm trip next month-so that will surely put me in the fall mood...chances are I'll finally accept it before then too.

The cranberry festival sounds like a perfect fall activity-have a great time!

Great update Brooke!

You are quick!!!

 

[D!SNEYgram]

AK is far from my favorite park, but you made it sound and look like so much fun!

THANK you so much for the table of content you always put on the first page of your reports. It makes it so easy and fast to find your new update. I wish everyone did that.

 

[Stefy]

Great update, I love the last photos. Priceless memorable moments

You gorilla pics are cool. Me and DF love Gorillas and like you could spend hours watching them too.

Can't believe Dinosaur was a 5min wait, you really had the best day at AK that day

Can't wait to read more x

 

[MeMom]

These are great. Just perfect that you bought Pluto right then!

I love the strawberry bars for cooling off, too.

The great apes are so fascinating to watch.

Thanks for all of the wonderful pictures to start my Finally Friday off on a good note!

 

[tiggrbaby]

I loved the pics of Henry with Pluto! It's so adorable the way he is holding out the toy to the "real" one!

What size lens are you using for your pics? I am getting a Rebel XS on a trade-in of my old Powershot, and it comes with an 18-55mm IS lens. I was wondering if that would be good enough for safari and trails pics.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great update! Love the safari pictures. I always love seeing the elephants...that is neat your driver played African music too.

And I think we've brought home a couple of those safari stuffed animals in the past... LOL.