Laughter, Tears & Screams- Two Aussies in WDW! New - 6/10 - The End!!

[AussieAngel]

So this was it... our last full Disney day!

How did that happen!? Time in Disney World just goes so quickly, doesn't it!? It seemed like only 2 days ago, we were arriving and driving through those magical gates... and now it was our last full day! Waaah!

On one hand, I was devestated that our vacation was nearly over. But on the other hand, I knew we'd had a fabulous time, plus I couldn't wait to get home and see Annie! (We'd been calling Conan's parents each day to see how she was doing - and she was still hanging in there! Her sore had turned dry and scabby, but it wasn't bothering her.)

And do you know what else? After 3 and a half weeks of travelling and exploring like crazy, we were TIRED! We were both starting to feel the effects of being away from home for a long time. I really was looking forward to going home! Weird, I know!

But... we were excited about spending our last official Disney day at Animal Kingdom. Remember we were meant to go there for another full day, but we only ended up going for a couple of hours, because of the Annie dramas? So we definitely wanted to go and revisit and do all those things we missed last time.

Originally, this was to be our Blizzard Beach day. The thing was... it was COLD!! Brrrr! So definitely no Blizzard Beach today - Animal Kingdom, it was!!

We had an 8.30am ADR first, at Boma for breakfast. We'd been there for dinner before, but I'd heard so many good things about breakfast at Boma, that we had to try that too! Wahoo!!

Remember how I'd been feeling icky for the past few days? I was now fine, but guess what. Conan woke up that morning, feeling icky! Oh no!! Maybe it was the water!? Maybe it was a mild version of the bug going around!? Maybe we were both just run down and eating too much food!? Who knows. But poor Conan hardly ate a thing at Boma that morning. I, on the other hand, scoffed down the food and totally enjoyed my breakfast!

And then it was off to Animal Kingdom! We caught the bus, along with 684 other people heading to Animal Kingdom that morning. Oh-oh! Animal Kingdom always seems busier than other parks, I reckon - probably because of the small walkways. But nevertheless, we arrived at around 9.30 and joined the crowds!

When we went to Disney in 2006, I thought AK would be my favourite park. I love animals, and it sounded so cool! And it is cool, but it's definitely not my favourite park. I can't really work it out - there's just something about it that doesn't mesh well with me!! I was determined to approach it with a fresh attitude today and give it a proper chance.

So as soon as we entered, we high-tailed to the Safari to pick up Fastpasses for later. The return time was for only 45 minutes later - pretty good!! And then, we headed directly to Expedition Everest and stood in the line, which read 20 minutes, but was really only a 10 minute wait. Woohoooooo!!

When we came to AK in 2006, Everest was down for the day. Boooo. So it was on the top of our list for today! Not even Conan's icky tummy could deter him. He wasn't missing Everest!!

I'll admit it... as we were nearing the front of the line, I started to feel a bit nervous!! Eeeek! I just didn't really know what to expect!! But before we knew it.... we were off! Woooosh!! And it was fabulous, of course!! We both LOVED it. I screamed my head off, and Conan laughed til his socks fell off. Well not really. But we had a hoot!! See!?

Okay, we kind of look a bit stunned in that photo. Happily stunned, though!!!

Here we are, glowing after our big Everest ride!

Go Everest, go Everest!!

We went for a little wander then, to compose ourselves before our Safari. We stopped for a few Fastpass photos with the tree...

Remember on our last AK day we met Simba? Well, look who we found again!!

Our Fastpass time for the Safari arrived, so we headed over there to board. Woohoo! I just love the Safari. Who doesn't!?

It soon became apparent that our Safari driver was very new. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was his first day. Hehee. Poor guy. He had a lady sitting next to him, telling him to "Go faster!" or "Hurry up!" or "STOP!" We were sitting right behind him and I felt so nervous for him! And let's just say... he wasn't very good. Yet!! I'm sure he will be one day, but he just really didn't know what to say. He would be in the middle of a sentence, and then totally stop talking because he had to turn. Then he'd say, "Where was I? Oh. Sorry." And start talking about something else. Hehheee.

My favourite one of his comments was talking about how some of the animals were being killed by poachers. But he didn't say that. He actually said, "Some of the animals are being killed by animals!" Hehheee!! He didn't even correct himself. Conan and I giggled at that. We couldn't help it! We giggled quietly though, it's okay! Poor guy!

We saw lots of animals along the way though, and because we were going so slow, we managed to get a few good photos!

An antelope thingy!

My favourite, the elephants! (Although I still think they might be pretend elephants...)

Rhinos! Are they about to fight, or are they having a chat? Hmm.

Us enjoying our bumpy ride!

We had a little explore of the Africa area after that...

And then look who we ran into!? DeVine!!!

We didn't literally run into her, it's okay. But she is so cool! I could spend all day watching her! Conan got bored pretty quickly though and wanted to move on. I chased her for a little while, trying to get a photo of her face, and I'm sure she was hiding from me. Eventually she gave in...

So pretty!

Continued in the next post...

 

[AussieAngel]

We kept wandering, and came across the tree again. Can you ever have too many photos of the tree?!

And me with the tree! (And my Tinkerbell top from eBay, which came all the way from France! Ooh la la!)

Here's where I become a bad trip reporter, because I really can't remember what we did then! I know we contemplated going on Kali River Rapids, but decided that no, it was just too cold! We didn't want to get saturated! We also contemplated going to see Festival of the Lion King, but the times just didn't suit that day. I think we'd just missed one show, and the next one wasn't for a while. I think we just happily wandered and explored for a little while!!

Here's me with Everest again...

So calm and pretty!

Conan still wasn't feeling 100%, so I think he just left the decision making all up to me. We also contemplated doing the Jungle Treks to check out some more animals... but I just couldn't do it! The choice was between walking through the bats or walking through birds!? Really!? No can do I'm afraid!! So we didn't do that either. Eeeek. We were kinda party poopers that day, huh!?

Instead, we headed to Dinoland to explore. We'd already ridden Dinosaur a few days before, and couldn't bring ourselves to ride it again. So jerky and scary!! So instead, we decided to ride the jerkiest thing in Disney - Primeval Whirl!!!

In 2006, we rode Primeval Whirl, and we've never forgotten it! It was fun and we laughed a lot, but whoa!! I've never been flung around so much on a ride before! Flung into the edge of the seat and bang! Then flung back to the other side and bang!! We tossed up whether to ride it again or not, but then decided... why not!?

It turned out to be a 45 minute wait in the line. Heh. I really don't know what made us stand in a line for 45 minutes to ride Primeval Whirl, but we did!

And whoa, it was just as jerky as we remembered! Still fun though! Heh! Here we are, ready to be flung from side to side...

Afterwards, we decided to console ourselves with some ice-cream!! Well Conan had an ice-cream, and I had a frozen banana. Yum!!

The park was getting really busy by this stage, and we wandered aimlessly for a little bit longer before deciding that we'd done everything we wanted to do! I felt like we'd skipped lots of big things, but apart from Festival of the Lion King, we'd done everything on our list at AK!

We grabbed some popcorn first though, and sat on a little bench to people watch for a while...

By the way, if you read my last trip report, you might remember my obsession with cheese popcorn. ALAS!! All the cheese popcorn at Disney World has gone!! What's with that!?! There used to be packets of Chip and Dale cheese popcorn everywhere at Disney! But not anymore! Boooooo!! I ate lots in New York though, so I kind of made up for it. Hehee!

After gobbling down the popcorn, we stopped for one last Photopass photo on the way out...

Hahaaa! Simba again!! Every Fastpass photographer we went to told us to do it, so we did! We didn't have the heart to tell them we'd already done it. Twice.

So we said goodbye to Animal Kingdom and headed towards the buses. We'd had a fun morning at Animal Kingdom! It's still not my favourite park, but I do like it! Especially Everest and the Safari.

Up next... Our last afternoon and night at Disney World!! What would we get up to!?!

 

[punkin413]

And do you know what else? After 3 and a half weeks of travelling and exploring like crazy, we were TIRED! We were both starting to feel the effects of being away from home for a long time. I really was looking forward to going home! Weird, I know!

not weird! as much as i love disney world, i'm usually ready to come home when it's time to. and we only stay like a week!

We both LOVED it. I screamed my head off, and Conan laughed til his socks fell off. Well not really. But we had a hoot!! See!?

i hope conan didn't lose his socks because buying socks at disney world would probably cost like $20!!!!!! glad you liked everest.

And then look who we ran into!? DeVine!!!

i love her! we saw her for the first time in december and she was so cool!

We also contemplated doing the Jungle Treks to check out some more animals... but I just couldn't do it! The choice was between walking through the bats or walking through birds!? Really!? No can do I'm afraid!! So we didn't do that either. Eeeek. We were kinda party poopers that day, huh!?

you can bypass the bats. you don't have to walk through them - they have a sign that tells you which way to go in order to avoid them. as far as the birds, you have to walk through there but i just duck my head and walk fast. it's not a big area and there's not a lot of birds - they stay far away from you for the most part.

can't wait to see what the rest of your day brings!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Ooooh, its been quite a few years since I was on the Primeval Whirl. Glad you guys got to ride again and that you enjoyed. I may have to take some time to do that one on our next trip. Like you, AK is not my favorite park but we do have fun there anyway. Love the Simba photo-you can never have too many!

 

[tink1957]

Great update,so sad your trip is endingYou'll just have to come back soon so you can entertain us again.

That driver was just too funny "animals killing animals" I know you coudn't help but laugh.

 

[annichan]

Hi Julie, now I 'm in the same boat as you - recently back from our gorgeous WDW holiday and wishing I could go back straightaway! Can you be homesick for Disney World? Yes, I think you can ... But it looks like we will be going back late next year!

I said Hi to the WL for you guys though, and I had a swim in the pool for you as well. I must have looked really silly as I was in the pool and trying to concentrate really hard and thinking of you so that you would get the vibe all the way over in Australia, because DH asked me what was wrong with me and if I head a headache or a cramp

Anyway, sorry to hear your report is slowly coming to an end - please do drag it out as much as you can, I don't want it to end!

I had to laugh at what you wrote about your Kilimanjaro Safari driver - but well, I guess everybody was on their first day at work sometime ...

 

[AshClan]

Wow, I was way behind again!

I loved the picture of the WL lobby. From right outside your room no less! What a prime spot you got!

And the Kona chicken wings. Mmmmmm. Love those. Put me down as someone else who doesn't like cotton candy, though the rest of that Kona Cone looked yummy!

I am so sorry you both had your bouts of feeling lousy. I have been extremely fortunate, with all of my trips to WDW, to never have been sick while there (though my husband was sick a few trips ago....fortunately we were with a bunch of friends so I still had touring pals!!). Of course, I've probably now jinxed myself

I'm giggling at all of your Simba pictures!!

Glad you finally got onto Everest. It's one of my very favorites!! And, honestly, possibly the only reason we even go to AK anymore. I am with you, though. The Lion King show is great, but I've seen it enough. I love Nemo, but the showtimes never seem to be convenient. My boys like Primeval Whirl, but not enough to pull us over there. (I can't believe you guys waited 45 minutes for it!!!!!) So, normally, we follow a very similar touring plan to what you did on that day! Everest, Safari, Primeval Whirl, a little meandering, and out!! Last month, we did the trails again, which was a nice change, but not overly thrilling. We were back to the hotel pool by 2:00!

Sorry your trip is coming to the end, but it's always a good sign when you're ready to go home. Means you had ENOUGH time on vacation, and you won't be so sad to leave. Don't think I've experienced that quite yet

 

[MagicShell]

I love Everest. I have ridden Primeval Whirl once and I don't know if I would be brave enough to ride that again. That ride is painful! Animal Kingdom is not my favorite park either, but I like it. I'm glad you had time to get back there again. Too bad your husband wasn't feeling well

 

[shebaxric]

Hey Julie!

I can definitely understand not wanting to go through AK when one of you doesn't feel good! That park does tend to be the most crowded and in my opinion icky tummies and crowds don't mix! I'm glad that you did get to go on EE, that's one that you surely don't want to miss! BTW, you are not a bad trip reporter, after three and a half weeks of traveling, I'd be lucky to remember by own name! After all the ups and downs you had on this trip, it's never been a dull moment reading it! I'm very excited to hear what you did on your last evening and how Annie was when you first got to see her!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Another great update! Yes, I am still following along, just doing so quietly!

I agree with you about AK, not sure why but it is definitely not a favorite of mine either. I do LOVE Expedition though!!

You have had an awesome Disney adventure, I am sad to see it some to an end.

 

[lmillercrew]

Awww the last morning! Sorry to hear that Conan wasn't feeling well. It must've been a bug.

 

[Sue88]

I wish you had gotten to see the lion king show. It always puts me in a happy mood.

I admit I giggled a bit just hearing that the driver said that the animals were being attacked by animals.

 

[Jenvenza]

I am so late coming to this TR, but I have to tell you - I LOVE IT!! What a wonderful vacation you had!! And since I am enjoying your TR so much, I am off to read your dining review now!

 

[MaceysMom]

Great update! That is so funny about the tour guide. Animals eating animals

I'm so sad it's your last full day!

 

[trixiequilts]

I still can’t believe we missed you by such a short amount of time. We could have met you for breakfast that day if we’d been there, but I was still at home crazily trying to get ready to go! What a total bummer.



“Woooosh” is a great way to describe Everest! Especially the going-backward-uphill-in the-dark part! I’m glad you both loved it.



And DeVine! Wow! She’s absolutely enormous!!! And very beautiful…I’m glad you stalked her until she gave in and showed her face for the camera.



This was a great update, but I wish it had just had one or two more pics of the two of you holding baby Simba...then it would have been perfect! Of course I'm kidding. You know I'm totally in awe (read: jealous) of your writing prowess!

 

[AussieAngel]

Hi everybody!!

Sorry I haven't been around for a while!! Our Internet connection decided to stop working for a few days, but it's up and running again now. Phew!! I've also had a bit of a yucky cold, so I've had a very lazy weekend!

Ooooh, its been quite a few years since I was on the Primeval Whirl. Glad you guys got to ride again and that you enjoyed. I may have to take some time to do that one on our next trip. Like you, AK is not my favorite park but we do have fun there anyway. Love the Simba photo-you can never have too many!

I don't know if we "enjoyed" the Primeval Whirl, so much as we experienced it!! It's kinda fun... but yeowch, it still hurts!! Definitely prepare yourself if you're going to ride it!

not weird! as much as i love disney world, i'm usually ready to come home when it's time to. and we only stay like a week!

I never thought I'd be ready to come home from Disney either... but we both were, in the end! You know what they say... There's no place like home! (Hey, how was Wicked in New York, by the way!!?)

i hope conan didn't lose his socks because buying socks at disney world would probably cost like $20!!!!!! glad you liked everest.

Ha, you're funny! He didn't reeeally lose his socks, it's okay!

i love her! we saw her for the first time in december and she was so cool!

I saw your great photos of her in your trip report! She's beautiful, isn't she?! I love watching everybody's faces as they watched her too... "What IS that!?"

you can bypass the bats. you don't have to walk through them - they have a sign that tells you which way to go in order to avoid them. as far as the birds, you have to walk through there but i just duck my head and walk fast. it's not a big area and there's not a lot of birds - they stay far away from you for the most part.

Oh!! I didn't know that!! Bummer! That will definitely go on our "next time" list then - I fancied seeing the tigers and the gorillas!!

Great update,so sad your trip is endingYou'll just have to come back soon so you can entertain us again.

That driver was just too funny "animals killing animals" I know you coudn't help but laugh.

The poor driver!! We really couldn't help but giggle. Hehehee. I'm sure he's much better now though! I hope, anyway...

Hi Julie, now I 'm in the same boat as you - recently back from our gorgeous WDW holiday and wishing I could go back straightaway! Can you be homesick for Disney World? Yes, I think you can ... But it looks like we will be going back late next year!

I said Hi to the WL for you guys though, and I had a swim in the pool for you as well. I must have looked really silly as I was in the pool and trying to concentrate really hard and thinking of you so that you would get the vibe all the way over in Australia, because DH asked me what was wrong with me and if I head a headache or a cramp

Anyway, sorry to hear your report is slowly coming to an end - please do drag it out as much as you can, I don't want it to end!

I had to laugh at what you wrote about your Kilimanjaro Safari driver - but well, I guess everybody was on their first day at work sometime ...

Awww, welcome home!! So great to hear you had a fantastic time!! Are you going to do a trip report!? And you're going back again next year, yayyyyy!! Lucky you!!

How funny about you sending the WL pool vibe over to us in Australia! Thanks!! Did you love the pool!? So relaxing, isn't it?! It was one of our favourite things about the Wilderness Lodge!

Wow, I was way behind again!

I loved the picture of the WL lobby. From right outside your room no less! What a prime spot you got!

And the Kona chicken wings. Mmmmmm. Love those. Put me down as someone else who doesn't like cotton candy, though the rest of that Kona Cone looked yummy!

I am so sorry you both had your bouts of feeling lousy. I have been extremely fortunate, with all of my trips to WDW, to never have been sick while there (though my husband was sick a few trips ago....fortunately we were with a bunch of friends so I still had touring pals!!). Of course, I've probably now jinxed myself

I'm giggling at all of your Simba pictures!!

Glad you finally got onto Everest. It's one of my very favorites!! And, honestly, possibly the only reason we even go to AK anymore. I am with you, though. The Lion King show is great, but I've seen it enough. I love Nemo, but the showtimes never seem to be convenient. My boys like Primeval Whirl, but not enough to pull us over there. (I can't believe you guys waited 45 minutes for it!!!!!) So, normally, we follow a very similar touring plan to what you did on that day! Everest, Safari, Primeval Whirl, a little meandering, and out!! Last month, we did the trails again, which was a nice change, but not overly thrilling. We were back to the hotel pool by 2:00!

Sorry your trip is coming to the end, but it's always a good sign when you're ready to go home. Means you had ENOUGH time on vacation, and you won't be so sad to leave. Don't think I've experienced that quite yet

Hey! Glad you've caught back up again!!

We were definitely very lucky with our great room at WL! We loved it! And augh, I can't believe you don't like cotton candy!! Lots of people don't, it seems!! It's only sugar! What's not to like!? Hehee!

We definitely sound similar with our Animal Kingdom plans. There's things I would like to do next time - The Lion King show, especially - but I think next time we'll just allow half a day for Animal Kingdom.

I know, I don't know what possessed us to stand in the Primeval Whirl line for 45 minutes!! I think we felt like we should do another ride, you know!? Like if we left really early, we weren't experiencing enough!!

I love Everest. I have ridden Primeval Whirl once and I don't know if I would be brave enough to ride that again. That ride is painful! Animal Kingdom is not my favorite park either, but I like it. I'm glad you had time to get back there again. Too bad your husband wasn't feeling well

Primeval Whirl is definitely painful! That's a good word for it! Heh! We loved Everest too... so yep, we're glad we got to back to Animal Kingdom after all!

Hey Julie!

I can definitely understand not wanting to go through AK when one of you doesn't feel good! That park does tend to be the most crowded and in my opinion icky tummies and crowds don't mix! I'm glad that you did get to go on EE, that's one that you surely don't want to miss! BTW, you are not a bad trip reporter, after three and a half weeks of traveling, I'd be lucky to remember by own name! After all the ups and downs you had on this trip, it's never been a dull moment reading it! I'm very excited to hear what you did on your last evening and how Annie was when you first got to see her!

Icky tummies and crowds are definitely not a good combination, you're right! Thanks for all your nice comments - it was certainly a trip of ups and downs, but mostly ups!! New chapter coming up soon!!

Another great update! Yes, I am still following along, just doing so quietly!

I agree with you about AK, not sure why but it is definitely not a favorite of mine either. I do LOVE Expedition though!!

You have had an awesome Disney adventure, I am sad to see it some to an end.

Hey Shelley! Glad you popped in to say hi again!! It's nice to hear from you!

 

[morgy827]

Awesome trip report!!

 

[AussieAngel]

Awww the last morning! Sorry to hear that Conan wasn't feeling well. It must've been a bug.

The last morning, waaaah! I know!! And yep, it must have been a little bug of some sort.

I wish you had gotten to see the lion king show. It always puts me in a happy mood.

I admit I giggled a bit just hearing that the driver said that the animals were being attacked by animals.

Oooh, we'll definitely have to check out The Lion King next time!! There's always something to add to everybody's "next time" list, isn't there!? And ha, the poor driver!! I wonder if he even realised he said it?!

I am so late coming to this TR, but I have to tell you - I LOVE IT!! What a wonderful vacation you had!! And since I am enjoying your TR so much, I am off to read your dining review now!

Aww, thanks for all your nice comments! I'm glad you stopped by to say hello!! We really did have a wonderful vacation!!

Great update! That is so funny about the tour guide. Animals eating animals

I'm so sad it's your last full day!

Hehee, the poor safari guide! I hope he's improved by now! Hehee. I'm sure he would have!

I still can’t believe we missed you by such a short amount of time. We could have met you for breakfast that day if we’d been there, but I was still at home crazily trying to get ready to go! What a total bummer.

I know!! So close... yet so far!!

“Woooosh” is a great way to describe Everest! Especially the going-backward-uphill-in the-dark part! I’m glad you both loved it.

We really did! Probably not as much as Rock'n'Roller Coaster, but it's definitely up there! You guys all really loved it too, didn't you!?

And DeVine! Wow! She’s absolutely enormous!!! And very beautiful…I’m glad you stalked her until she gave in and showed her face for the camera.

Did you see her on your AK days? She was pretty tall on those stilt thingys. What a cool job... just wander around slowly and confuse people. Hheheee!

This was a great update, but I wish it had just had one or two more pics of the two of you holding baby Simba...then it would have been perfect! Of course I'm kidding. You know I'm totally in awe (read: jealous) of your writing prowess!

Haaa! I really did laugh out loud at that comment! What was it with us and baby Simba!?

Thanks again everybody, for all your fantastic comments and replies!! It's so nice to know people are still reading and enjoying!! I'll be back soon with my next update!

 

[AussieAngel]

Awesome trip report!!

Ooh, thanks!! You snuck in there in the middle of my posts!!

 

[annichan]

Awww, welcome home!! So great to hear you had a fantastic time!! Are you going to do a trip report!? And you're going back again next year, yayyyyy!! Lucky you!!
How funny about you sending the WL pool vibe over to us in Australia! Thanks!! Did you love the pool!? So relaxing, isn't it?! It was one of our favourite things about the Wilderness Lodge!

Yes, I think I will do a trip report - just gotta finish my dining report first ...
The WL pool was SO great, I loved floating at the end of the pool were the stream flows into it, so relaxing! And one of our favourite things as well, together with the Sea Raycers rental!