Kanga1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
- Messages
- 1,470
Cast of Characters:
Jana (moi, 40, obsessive planner of this and all trips..think Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies.)
Eric (DH, 41, a big kid at heart, pretty much goes with the flow and can have a good time anywhere as long as theres good food.)
Anna Marie (4 year-old DD and true princess any princess...pick one.)
Saturday dawned with a good nights sleep and much better spirits. Were up early and I take my much needed coffee out onto the patio to take in the sunrise and the foul on the water of Bay Lake. DD joins me and finds a lizard in the grass which she quickly picks up by the tail. Now, this just ceases to amaze me. The girl is absolutely terrified of flies and bees, but LOVES this squirmy reptile. Go figure. The encounter is quite fitting, however, for today we embrace Animal Kingdom. Since this morning is EMH were up and at em! and were out the door early. Rounding the corner to the bus stop, I see a bus already there. My 20/20 vision tells me it is the bus for Animal Kingdom, and since I do not want to miss the opening of AK, I yell Quick! Hurry! This is OUR bus! I take off as quickly as my short little legs will carry me DH picks up our daughter and away we go! The sprint across the parking lot is well worth the effort we are the last ones to board the bus. The ride seemed to take forever as we first stopped at the Poly, GF, and Blizzard Beach. Here is something I dont understand although I am extremely happy that the CR is always the first picked up (theres always a seat) and consequently always the first dropped off, it would seem to me that the Disney execs would change the route to pick up the guests at Grand Floridian first. After all, these people have paid an enormous amount of money to stay there youd think theyd get first dibs on the bus. Oh well, Ill keep my mouth shut, as I am unlikely to be staying at GF anytime soon.
We arrive at the land of the wild, DH grabs the stroller and we make our way toward the rope drop. Passing by a gift shop, I am suddenly reminded that our $75 Pal Mickey has barely said anything other than the generic, Hi! Its me, Mickey! Hes supposed to be triggered at various points in each of the theme parks and tell us interesting facts, when shows begin, where the characters currently are, etc. He didnt say one word the entire time we were at MK yesterday. DH even went so far to take him into one of the shops and have him re-programmed. Seeing the Pal Mickeys on display in this shop reminds me that I want to exchange ours for a new one before we get any further into this trip. I explain our problem to the CM and she asks if weve turned him on. Well, of COURSE hes on!! It doesnt look like weve just fallen off the turnip truck, does it? Besides, he talks; he just doesnt tell us anything about the parks. Just give me a new one please. At this point the CM turns Mickey over, unzips the back of his head and yep, you guessed it turns him on. I swallow hard, pick up the turnips that have fallen off the truck with me, say Thank you and listen to Mickey begin talking instantly about the Animal Kingdom. Onward to the rope drop. The music is playing, I feel like dancing, and soon, Mickey and Minnie dressed in safari attire appear at the front of the crowd atop an expedition vehicle of some sort and we make our way into the jungle er Animal Kingdom. This is the neatest form of crowd control I have ever seen. Mickey and Minnie dancing on top of the truck, lively music blaring, and a throng of happy people half jogging, half dancing following behind them. It was a wonderful way to open up the park and I wont say I didnt get a tear in my eye while making my journey to Kilamanjaro. Somewhere along the way the Mice left us and I ended up at the safari ride well before DD and DH I guess they got detained parking the stroller. Kilomanjari Safari was exciting and there were quite a few animals out. This ride is best ridden in the morning or evenings, as the animals tend to seek shelter in the heat of the day. Even at 8:00 it was beginning to get quite warm Im sure they will be seeking shade very soon as do we. While looking for a shady spot to rest, DH comes across a souvenir cart that sells water bottle holders. We need this, as our water bottle keeps sweating with condensation. The holder he chose is insulated and has a clip and neck strap perfect for what we need - complete with the AK logo. The CM interacts with DD and they trade pins. DD trades one of her princess pins for a cute sparkly Tinkerbell. We find a shaded bench and it is here that we have our first Mickey bar sweet heaven I think Im in love. Straight ahead there is a gift shop and DD wants to go inside. She eyes a colorful stuffed parrot, and since her behavior has been better than perfect since the demonic episode at Fultons last night, I consent to letting her buy it. She names him Parrot and he goes with us everywhere for the next few days. (More on Parrot later.) Our agenda this morning is sparse we really just came to ride Kilamanjaro and get an overview of the park, so we decide to check out Camp Mickey. Shoot. Its closed and wont open until 10:00; however, we are at the right place at the right time, because who should walk out but Mickey, Minnie and Goofy! And we are in the front of the line wait we ARE the line for a few minutes until people realize whats going on. DD gets a good amount of time playing with Goofy and then she gets to visit with Mickey and Minnie at the same time. (We have great footage of that one.) Before I go on further with my story, I would like to offer my advice about cameras and camcorders. TAKE them and USE them! On vacations of the past we have been known to haul our mid-size camcorder and 35mm SLR Minolta with us with full intentions of obtaining great photos and never taking them out of the hotel room! Not so this time. Before our trip we invested in a very small video camcorder and an even smaller digital camera. Both were compact enough to fit in our waistpack. As I said before, DH was in charge of video; I was in charge of digitals. It worked out great. We came home with over 2 and a half hours of video (although some of that is of a table or the tops of DHs shoes) and almost 600 pictures. We never felt like we were living our trip through the lens of a camera, and we have memories that will last long after ours fade with age. Hmmm what to do now. We would love to see the 9:30 showing of Festival of the Lion King but we do not want to miss our 10:45 PS at Boma. A kind CM ensures us that we should be able to do both, so we make our way into the theatre. The performance is just starting and it is grand. The costumes are superb and the music feels like it has transcended into my body and is pumping its way through my soul. Excellent. So glad we stayed.
Time check 10:15. Ooh, this is going to be cutting it close. Sure hope the bus for AKL comes quickly. On our way to the bus stop we meet a character we had not seen before, and we werent quite sure who she was. Nonetheless, DD wanted to hug her and of course get her autograph for her book. We learn quickly that she is Lady Jane from Tarzan and she and DD have fun acting like monkeys. Jane speaks with a British accent, and as we were saying our goodbyes, DD looks up at me and asks, Was she speaking Spanish? Well, that just cracked us up! She had asked us this quite loudly, and I noticed that the character handler and Jane herself were laughing uncontrollably. Too funny. Its lucky we got to meet Jane. We learned later on (from friends of ours that are CMs) that this was the very first appearance from Lady Jane in several years and we were practically the first to get to see her! This was great even though she did speak Spanish. Ok, were really late now. We run to the bus stop where we wait and wait and wait some more. At 10:40 the bus arrives and Im sure we will miss this meal. Im getting kind of bummed at the thought of that, as I had heard such good things about Boma and was looking forward to this late breakfast. I get directions from a man on the bus that is staying at AKL so Ill know exactly where to go when we get there. The bus pulls into the AKL bus stop, I exit, and run. Ill secure our PS and DH and DD will get there when they get there. Quick into the lobby down the stairs left to Boma. Panting, Hi. I have a 10:45 PS hope were not too late. More panting. I give the CM my name and we actually have a small wait. Good. Time enough to catch our breath. Boma was superb and the jungle juice was to die for! We all had at least 2 glasses (even DD) and the CM gave her a cup of it for the road. After breakfast, we took a stroll through the lodge. I am always on the lookout for the next place to stay. We walked to the observation point overlooking the savannah, but didnt see any animals out today. It was going on noon and getting VERY hot. DD and I found a misting spot and enjoyed that for awhile. Walking back towards the lobby, DD found a friend a CM named Mashudu who had just finished some activity with the children. He was extremely nice and told her several facts about the animals there. We say our goodbyes to Animal Kingdom Lodge, board the bus to AK and then another to CR.
Time is short for us this afternoon, its either going to be a nap or a swim we cannot do both. Since my DD doesnt know that a swim is an option, we choose nap. We are meeting some friends at Epcot this evening and I would like her to be well rested. Tonights another late one, for were staying for IllumiNations. We have a 5:45 PS a San Angel Inn in Mexico. Allowing plenty of time (I hate to be rushed for a PS) we board the monorail for the short ride to the TTC where well switch trains and head for Epcot. This short ride turns into a long one; we get stuck for about 15 minutes. Uh-oh, I built in time, but not enough for a mechanical breakdown. Upon arriving at Epcot, we RUN to Mexico. And its so far from the entrance of Futureworld, that I feel like were really running to Mexico! Its just about time for our PS and our friends are waiting outside the big temple for us. (Our original plans were for Tappanyaki in Japan, but when I found out our friends could join us, San Angel was the only restaurant I could get.) San Angel Inn does not disappoint. Were greeted with a mariachi band, the food is fabulous, and the atmosphere is lovely. Seated at a table next to El Rio del Tiempo, DD is entertained by watching the boats and keeping a watchful eye on the volcano, lest it erupt and spew forth fire in our direction. Our friends, Mike and Lois whom we were dining with, live in FL and are cast members at Disney. DH and Mike were hometown buddies and we all went to college together. Mike is quite funny and they both told interesting tales of life as cast members and the season of hurricanes last summer. Dinner ended much too quickly and it was time to stake out a good spot for IllumiNations. I wanted a spot on the bridge close to Great Britain, but Mike thought a seat close the International Gateway would be best. I did not question his decision (he is, after all, a CM) so we got our spot underneath a torch and had a good time visiting before our friends had to leave. They were unable to stay for the fireworks, as they both had to be at work early in the morning. I will say that this is the first show that Id seen since we arrived in WDW where I was not shaking with panic, or worried about being late for something else. I enjoyed it immensely. Since we werent in the middle of the crowd tonight, we did what is advised and watched everyone else rush out of the park. DH got us some frozen slushes from a nearby stand and we sat on a bench to enjoy the evening. Its true what they say it is magical just sitting, being with the ones you love, listening to the cheerful music and taking it all in. I didnt want to leave I wanted to capture that moment in time that peaceful evening sitting on that bench and keep it with me through all eternity. When the crowds had departed - so much so that we were afraid theyd close the park and lock us in for the night - we made our way through Futureworld where DD danced with the lights of the sparkling sidewalk. Look, Mommy Tinkerbell! Animals, nature, good friends, good food, sparkling lights, lovely music, family. Today had all these things and instead of running this time, we strolled back to the monorail for our journey home.
"Planning or Obsession...What's the Difference?"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857133
"Our Vacation Begins"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...370#post9138370
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...210#post9143210
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...244#post9143244
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 3)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857458
Day 2 "Magical Meltdowns"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=859866
Jana (moi, 40, obsessive planner of this and all trips..think Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies.)
Eric (DH, 41, a big kid at heart, pretty much goes with the flow and can have a good time anywhere as long as theres good food.)
Anna Marie (4 year-old DD and true princess any princess...pick one.)
Saturday dawned with a good nights sleep and much better spirits. Were up early and I take my much needed coffee out onto the patio to take in the sunrise and the foul on the water of Bay Lake. DD joins me and finds a lizard in the grass which she quickly picks up by the tail. Now, this just ceases to amaze me. The girl is absolutely terrified of flies and bees, but LOVES this squirmy reptile. Go figure. The encounter is quite fitting, however, for today we embrace Animal Kingdom. Since this morning is EMH were up and at em! and were out the door early. Rounding the corner to the bus stop, I see a bus already there. My 20/20 vision tells me it is the bus for Animal Kingdom, and since I do not want to miss the opening of AK, I yell Quick! Hurry! This is OUR bus! I take off as quickly as my short little legs will carry me DH picks up our daughter and away we go! The sprint across the parking lot is well worth the effort we are the last ones to board the bus. The ride seemed to take forever as we first stopped at the Poly, GF, and Blizzard Beach. Here is something I dont understand although I am extremely happy that the CR is always the first picked up (theres always a seat) and consequently always the first dropped off, it would seem to me that the Disney execs would change the route to pick up the guests at Grand Floridian first. After all, these people have paid an enormous amount of money to stay there youd think theyd get first dibs on the bus. Oh well, Ill keep my mouth shut, as I am unlikely to be staying at GF anytime soon.
We arrive at the land of the wild, DH grabs the stroller and we make our way toward the rope drop. Passing by a gift shop, I am suddenly reminded that our $75 Pal Mickey has barely said anything other than the generic, Hi! Its me, Mickey! Hes supposed to be triggered at various points in each of the theme parks and tell us interesting facts, when shows begin, where the characters currently are, etc. He didnt say one word the entire time we were at MK yesterday. DH even went so far to take him into one of the shops and have him re-programmed. Seeing the Pal Mickeys on display in this shop reminds me that I want to exchange ours for a new one before we get any further into this trip. I explain our problem to the CM and she asks if weve turned him on. Well, of COURSE hes on!! It doesnt look like weve just fallen off the turnip truck, does it? Besides, he talks; he just doesnt tell us anything about the parks. Just give me a new one please. At this point the CM turns Mickey over, unzips the back of his head and yep, you guessed it turns him on. I swallow hard, pick up the turnips that have fallen off the truck with me, say Thank you and listen to Mickey begin talking instantly about the Animal Kingdom. Onward to the rope drop. The music is playing, I feel like dancing, and soon, Mickey and Minnie dressed in safari attire appear at the front of the crowd atop an expedition vehicle of some sort and we make our way into the jungle er Animal Kingdom. This is the neatest form of crowd control I have ever seen. Mickey and Minnie dancing on top of the truck, lively music blaring, and a throng of happy people half jogging, half dancing following behind them. It was a wonderful way to open up the park and I wont say I didnt get a tear in my eye while making my journey to Kilamanjaro. Somewhere along the way the Mice left us and I ended up at the safari ride well before DD and DH I guess they got detained parking the stroller. Kilomanjari Safari was exciting and there were quite a few animals out. This ride is best ridden in the morning or evenings, as the animals tend to seek shelter in the heat of the day. Even at 8:00 it was beginning to get quite warm Im sure they will be seeking shade very soon as do we. While looking for a shady spot to rest, DH comes across a souvenir cart that sells water bottle holders. We need this, as our water bottle keeps sweating with condensation. The holder he chose is insulated and has a clip and neck strap perfect for what we need - complete with the AK logo. The CM interacts with DD and they trade pins. DD trades one of her princess pins for a cute sparkly Tinkerbell. We find a shaded bench and it is here that we have our first Mickey bar sweet heaven I think Im in love. Straight ahead there is a gift shop and DD wants to go inside. She eyes a colorful stuffed parrot, and since her behavior has been better than perfect since the demonic episode at Fultons last night, I consent to letting her buy it. She names him Parrot and he goes with us everywhere for the next few days. (More on Parrot later.) Our agenda this morning is sparse we really just came to ride Kilamanjaro and get an overview of the park, so we decide to check out Camp Mickey. Shoot. Its closed and wont open until 10:00; however, we are at the right place at the right time, because who should walk out but Mickey, Minnie and Goofy! And we are in the front of the line wait we ARE the line for a few minutes until people realize whats going on. DD gets a good amount of time playing with Goofy and then she gets to visit with Mickey and Minnie at the same time. (We have great footage of that one.) Before I go on further with my story, I would like to offer my advice about cameras and camcorders. TAKE them and USE them! On vacations of the past we have been known to haul our mid-size camcorder and 35mm SLR Minolta with us with full intentions of obtaining great photos and never taking them out of the hotel room! Not so this time. Before our trip we invested in a very small video camcorder and an even smaller digital camera. Both were compact enough to fit in our waistpack. As I said before, DH was in charge of video; I was in charge of digitals. It worked out great. We came home with over 2 and a half hours of video (although some of that is of a table or the tops of DHs shoes) and almost 600 pictures. We never felt like we were living our trip through the lens of a camera, and we have memories that will last long after ours fade with age. Hmmm what to do now. We would love to see the 9:30 showing of Festival of the Lion King but we do not want to miss our 10:45 PS at Boma. A kind CM ensures us that we should be able to do both, so we make our way into the theatre. The performance is just starting and it is grand. The costumes are superb and the music feels like it has transcended into my body and is pumping its way through my soul. Excellent. So glad we stayed.
Time check 10:15. Ooh, this is going to be cutting it close. Sure hope the bus for AKL comes quickly. On our way to the bus stop we meet a character we had not seen before, and we werent quite sure who she was. Nonetheless, DD wanted to hug her and of course get her autograph for her book. We learn quickly that she is Lady Jane from Tarzan and she and DD have fun acting like monkeys. Jane speaks with a British accent, and as we were saying our goodbyes, DD looks up at me and asks, Was she speaking Spanish? Well, that just cracked us up! She had asked us this quite loudly, and I noticed that the character handler and Jane herself were laughing uncontrollably. Too funny. Its lucky we got to meet Jane. We learned later on (from friends of ours that are CMs) that this was the very first appearance from Lady Jane in several years and we were practically the first to get to see her! This was great even though she did speak Spanish. Ok, were really late now. We run to the bus stop where we wait and wait and wait some more. At 10:40 the bus arrives and Im sure we will miss this meal. Im getting kind of bummed at the thought of that, as I had heard such good things about Boma and was looking forward to this late breakfast. I get directions from a man on the bus that is staying at AKL so Ill know exactly where to go when we get there. The bus pulls into the AKL bus stop, I exit, and run. Ill secure our PS and DH and DD will get there when they get there. Quick into the lobby down the stairs left to Boma. Panting, Hi. I have a 10:45 PS hope were not too late. More panting. I give the CM my name and we actually have a small wait. Good. Time enough to catch our breath. Boma was superb and the jungle juice was to die for! We all had at least 2 glasses (even DD) and the CM gave her a cup of it for the road. After breakfast, we took a stroll through the lodge. I am always on the lookout for the next place to stay. We walked to the observation point overlooking the savannah, but didnt see any animals out today. It was going on noon and getting VERY hot. DD and I found a misting spot and enjoyed that for awhile. Walking back towards the lobby, DD found a friend a CM named Mashudu who had just finished some activity with the children. He was extremely nice and told her several facts about the animals there. We say our goodbyes to Animal Kingdom Lodge, board the bus to AK and then another to CR.
Time is short for us this afternoon, its either going to be a nap or a swim we cannot do both. Since my DD doesnt know that a swim is an option, we choose nap. We are meeting some friends at Epcot this evening and I would like her to be well rested. Tonights another late one, for were staying for IllumiNations. We have a 5:45 PS a San Angel Inn in Mexico. Allowing plenty of time (I hate to be rushed for a PS) we board the monorail for the short ride to the TTC where well switch trains and head for Epcot. This short ride turns into a long one; we get stuck for about 15 minutes. Uh-oh, I built in time, but not enough for a mechanical breakdown. Upon arriving at Epcot, we RUN to Mexico. And its so far from the entrance of Futureworld, that I feel like were really running to Mexico! Its just about time for our PS and our friends are waiting outside the big temple for us. (Our original plans were for Tappanyaki in Japan, but when I found out our friends could join us, San Angel was the only restaurant I could get.) San Angel Inn does not disappoint. Were greeted with a mariachi band, the food is fabulous, and the atmosphere is lovely. Seated at a table next to El Rio del Tiempo, DD is entertained by watching the boats and keeping a watchful eye on the volcano, lest it erupt and spew forth fire in our direction. Our friends, Mike and Lois whom we were dining with, live in FL and are cast members at Disney. DH and Mike were hometown buddies and we all went to college together. Mike is quite funny and they both told interesting tales of life as cast members and the season of hurricanes last summer. Dinner ended much too quickly and it was time to stake out a good spot for IllumiNations. I wanted a spot on the bridge close to Great Britain, but Mike thought a seat close the International Gateway would be best. I did not question his decision (he is, after all, a CM) so we got our spot underneath a torch and had a good time visiting before our friends had to leave. They were unable to stay for the fireworks, as they both had to be at work early in the morning. I will say that this is the first show that Id seen since we arrived in WDW where I was not shaking with panic, or worried about being late for something else. I enjoyed it immensely. Since we werent in the middle of the crowd tonight, we did what is advised and watched everyone else rush out of the park. DH got us some frozen slushes from a nearby stand and we sat on a bench to enjoy the evening. Its true what they say it is magical just sitting, being with the ones you love, listening to the cheerful music and taking it all in. I didnt want to leave I wanted to capture that moment in time that peaceful evening sitting on that bench and keep it with me through all eternity. When the crowds had departed - so much so that we were afraid theyd close the park and lock us in for the night - we made our way through Futureworld where DD danced with the lights of the sparkling sidewalk. Look, Mommy Tinkerbell! Animals, nature, good friends, good food, sparkling lights, lovely music, family. Today had all these things and instead of running this time, we strolled back to the monorail for our journey home.
"Planning or Obsession...What's the Difference?"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857133
"Our Vacation Begins"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...370#post9138370
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...210#post9143210
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...244#post9143244
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 3)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857458
Day 2 "Magical Meltdowns"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=859866
