Let the memories (of our May 2011 trip) begin! *UPDATED SEPT. 18th- LINK to NEW TR!*

[brookelizabeth]

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Looooove your dress! You look beautiful!

I laughed at the sunblock bottle bit - Henry is the same way. It's amazing what they get attached to, isn't it??

I wasn't too crazy about the whole focus on the dark side of Disney either.

I know a lot of people like this type of dark stuff but we are people of the light, if you know what I mean, and we thought the show dwelt on the darkness a little too long for our taste. Let's just say we won't be going out of our way to see this show again.

Great effects though.

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I couldn't agree with you more. We are not fans either, for the exact same reasons. We saw it once, no desire to really go back. I *might* if they refurb it like the rumors are saying, just to see (it's good for me to have an idea of everything considering my travel agent work!), but otherwise - meh, I'll skip it.

And yes, I'd LOVE to see a World of Color type show on property! I don't think it will go there because Fantastmic is so very popular, but I have heard rumors of them building a lake in DTD for it. We shall see!

So last Sunday Joey and I ran our first 5K together I have to say I cannot believe there was a dorment runner inside of me.

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That is awesome! I have done most of the C25K program, but dropped out when the weather got cold last year - this year I have barely ran. I hope to do the Princess 5K in 2013. The Expedition Everest 5k would be a blast!

 

[Queila]

Hello everybody!

Sorry I have been so quiet lately.

I still come to the boards regularly and read everyone's TR's but I have just been too tired (or lazy) to leave comments.

I have been working some extra shifts to help us pay for our next trips (we have not only one but two lined up but none to Disney unfortunately).

In December we are going to Las Vegas to celebrate our ten year anniversary. It is the first time over there for both of us and I am really looking forward to it. We are not taking Beatriz and I wanted to go somewhere that wouldn't make me feel guilty for not bringing her. Vegas was an easy choice. We booked 4 nights at the ARIA hotel but I am not over planning this trip. The goal is to relax and play it by ear.

Then in January we are going to Brazil . It has been two years since I have last been there and I am HOMESICK. This is the longest I have ever gone without going to Brazil and it is showing. Ask Joey. He will tell you.

Also I find Beatriz is very disconnected with her Brazilian roots right now. She does not remember anything from the three times she has been there (not that I expected her to able to) and the other day she refused to speak to me in Portuguese which for me is a huge no, no. I am sure she will enjoy it immensely this time around and I owe it to my family to bring her down as often as I can.

Of course, getting out of Canada in the middle of the Winter towards sunny Brazil won't hurt us either.

Joey and I are also busy undergoing some tests so we can start some fertility treatments so that is occupying not only my mind but it has also shifted my Internet time from Disney to some other stuff...

Anyways, enough of the boring stuff. This TR needs to keep rolling and I will try to update another installment tonight.

Thanks for listening!​

Looks like a great morning so far at AK

It was indeed!!

I'm glad you got to spend an entire day at AK as we loved this park on our trip

Yay on meeting so many characters on your way to the safari - we met Miss Bunny and Meeko early on in the day as well. I love how they come down to Bs level.

Great animal pics - looking forward to reading more!

Isn't AK awesome?? It is just so beautiful in there and you get to meet some pretty unusual animals both from the real and from the character worlds.

Fantastic pictures from the safari- both of the animals and your adorable little girl!

The character photos are really cute too. What a difference from your last trip!

I know! This TR was almost named "The family trip that just turned into a big, fat character hunt".

Looooove your dress! You look beautiful!

I laughed at the sunblock bottle bit - Henry is the same way. It's amazing what they get attached to, isn't it??

I couldn't agree with you more. We are not fans either, for the exact same reasons. We saw it once, no desire to really go back. I *might* if they refurb it like the rumors are saying, just to see (it's good for me to have an idea of everything considering my travel agent work!), but otherwise - meh, I'll skip it.

And yes, I'd LOVE to see a World of Color type show on property! I don't think it will go there because Fantastmic is so very popular, but I have heard rumors of them building a lake in DTD for it. We shall see!

That is awesome! I have done most of the C25K program, but dropped out when the weather got cold last year - this year I have barely ran. I hope to do the Princess 5K in 2013. The Expedition Everest 5k would be a blast!

Thank you for the compliment. I am always looking for an excuse to dress up since I work in scrubs all day....

The funny thing is that she completely forgot about the sunblock once we got home but she got attached to a scarf the whole Summer. Just when you can FINALLY put them away for a couple of months... After a while we realized that she was pretending the scarf was her long Rapunzel hair though... It made sense but it was still hard to watch.

i had not heard about the World of Color possibly going to DTD. It makes sense. It would be a perfect location. Except, how would they charge admission??

I am about to start week 9 on the c25k and I am very excited about my running. My ultimate test is about to start: it is getting so cold outside. How am I supposed to keep up? Is there a princess 5K?? I would love to run any Disney race. It is my ultimate motivation.

 

[Queila]

Day 5- Monday, May 16th 2011- Morning at Animal Kingdom- Part 2

So after we came back to civilization from our safari it was time to take yet another trip.

Something we really wanted to do this time was to take the express train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

I know most people don't want to take the time to go all the way there but since Beatriz is still too small to ride the big thrills or even to decide where we should go next we decided we wanted to take this trip to explore that part of the park.

Waiting for the train:

Conservation Station bound:

Colonial Africa themeing:

All aboard (and we ride sideways):

We get there and Beatriz immediately decided to hop on the fake elephant:

We made our way to Conservation Station slowly and stopping to admire some of the animals on the way but once we got there it was this guy who caught our attention:

And then we also got to meet the monkey himself: Rafiki!

Even I wanted a picture since The Lion King was the movie of MY tender years:

Conservation Station is VERY COOL.

It is quiet and you kinda have to self guide yourself through the exhibits and artefacts taking the time to read the signs and ask questions but we were totally ok with that.

That is also where you find, in my opinion, the coolest thing at Animal Kingdom: the Animal care and Hospital. Every morning sometime between 10 am and noon, a couple of animals are brought out for medical procedures or check ups and you can watch everything through a glass window and even get to ask questions to the veterinarian at the end of the procedure.

Now I am health care provider (once upon a lifetime ago I was even a surgeon myself ) and I EAT THIS TYPE OF STUFF UP.

I just sat there and watched a laser removal of an abnormal follicle (ingrown feather) being performed on a stork. A STORK! How cool is that??

I secretly made a wish and asked for it to come and visit me soon so.... we keep waiting.

It was a great moment specially because Beatriz was digging it too. I took no pictures of it because I did not want to use the flash against the window and risk disturbing the vets.

After that we got into a sound chamber and attempted to listen to "The Sounds of the forest" but Beatriz got scared so we had to leave.

And who do we see next??

Pocahontas!

Well, we cannot miss that, can we? I may be wrong but I think she is the only human character you get to meet at Animal Kingdom.

Her interaction with Beatriz was great and they talked lengthy about something I can't remember:

We told her we had already seen Meeko and I refrained myself from making jokes about still trying to figure out the "colors of the wind".

We posed for a last picture, Beatriz gave her a hug and we said good bye to Conservation Station:

And what do we find outside??

The Affection Section where these cute goats jut seat around and let themselves be pet all day.

Beatriz LOVED this. And I specially loved the fact that they had some water and soap for us to wash our hands at the end of it all.

So by now we were getting really hungry (those small breakfasts in our room forced us into early lunches) and we decided it was time to go back to civilization yet again.

We really liked Rafiki's Planet Watch and we are very happy we took the time to do it. I recommend it for all families. Specially with small kids. Even more specially if you live in the city.

It was a great break from the hustle from the park and we got to meet characters and interact with real animals.

Two thums up!

Next up:
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ





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[natebenma]

No apologies needed! We will be here to read when you are able to write!

Good luck with your treatments. I don't know if I have shared, but Nate was a fertility baby. Although Mark and I had been married 13 years when he was born, we had only just started treatment and we were fortunate that the first procedure was successful for us. Ben was made the old-fashioned way, but we were getting ready to start treatments again if it didn't happen on our own.

Sounds like you have a couple of nice trips planned. Congrats on your 10th anniversary. I'm so happy to hear you will be going back to Brazil, too.

 

[natebenma]

Looks like you had a wonderful time at Rafiki's place. We have never been.

I love the pictures with Rafiki. Did he get fresh? He goosed my best friend Cindy- I think at Magic Kingdom.

Pochahantas is beautiful! Too bad her show at AK was closed.

 

[Queila]

No apologies needed! We will be here to read when you are able to write!

Good luck with your treatments. I don't know if I have shared, but Nate was a fertility baby. Although Mark and I had been married 13 years when he was born, we had only just started treatment and we were fortunate that the first procedure was successful for us. Ben was made the old-fashioned way, but we were getting ready to start treatments again if it didn't happen on our own.

Sounds like you have a couple of nice trips planned. Congrats on your 10th anniversary. I'm so happy to hear you will be going back to Brazil, too.

Thanks Dee. Specially for sharing your story with me.

Beatriz was conceived the old fashion way and I got pregnant on my FIRST MONTH TRYING. No joke. Then it took me ten months of trying before I got pregnant again but that ended up in a miscarriage. We have been trying again for around 4 months but I just turned 34 and decided to give myself a consultation at a fertility clinic as a gift.

The doctor says we are able to conceive (obviously) but he found a couple of issues that can justify the delay. So we'll see....

Did you ever go to Vegas? Any suggestions??

 

[Queila]

Looks like you had a wonderful time at Rafiki's place. We have never been.

I love the pictures with Rafiki. Did he get fresh? He goosed my best friend Cindy- I think at Magic Kingdom.

Pochahantas is beautiful! Too bad her show at AK was closed.

I never got to see her show at AK. I guess it was on during my Disney blackout years. It was nice to her and Ct. Smith at the beginning of the Fantasmic show though. I like the movie. I wish they would give her some more exposure. At the American pavillon at Epcot maybe??

Rafiki did not try any moves on me. I guess I am not his type. I will make sure to pay more attention next time.

Q

 

[ronnmel]

I am sorry to hear about the fertility issues. I have a friend who tried conceiving for almost 3 years, including with some fertility treatment. She finally got pregnant through IVF and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl earlier this year.

I hope that Beatriz gets over her refusal to speak Portuguese. It's one of my fear, as I speak French and Ron speaks English, that my kids would refuse to speak French to me. Especially since I speak way more English than Ron does French.

I love the Conservation Station! It's an awesome place to meet some characters and see some very cool things about animals.

 

[jecskc]

Loved your update !! I love sitting sideways in the train.

Good luck with the fertility. Aren't we so lucky to have this medical advancement nowadays ?? It's amazing what doctors can do for people having trouble conceiving.

Looking forward to reading more !!

 

[TanzUnited99]

We went to Rafiki's Planet Watch and loved it! There is so much to do and learn at this place. A bit jealous you guys got to meet Rafiki as he wasn't out during our time here. Zaheer loved the affection section and if he had his way we would have spent a majority of our day just petting animals!

Ooh have a great trip to Las Vagas (hope you share pics) and Brazil. Congrats on your 10 year anniversary

Good luck with the fertility treatments - I hope everything works out for you guys.

 

[Queila]

I am sorry to hear about the fertility issues. I have a friend who tried conceiving for almost 3 years, including with some fertility treatment. She finally got pregnant through IVF and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl earlier this year.

I hope that Beatriz gets over her refusal to speak Portuguese. It's one of my fear, as I speak French and Ron speaks English, that my kids would refuse to speak French to me. Especially since I speak way more English than Ron does French.

I love the Conservation Station! It's an awesome place to meet some characters and see some very cool things about animals.

Thank you and congratulations on your pregnancy.

I am trying to be more vigilant and not answer her back when she talks to me in Englis and it seems to be working but is is SO HARD. I am always switching back and forth between English with Joey, Portuguese with her and French at work. In Brazil she will be a lot more exposed to the language so hopefully that will do the trick.

Loved your update !! I love sitting sideways in the train.

Good luck with the fertility. Aren't we so lucky to have this medical advancement nowadays ?? It's amazing what doctors can do for people having trouble conceiving.

Looking forward to reading more !!

Thank you! Hopefully it will work for us...

We went to Rafiki's Planet Watch and loved it! There is so much to do and learn at this place. A bit jealous you guys got to meet Rafiki as he wasn't out during our time here. Zaheer loved the affection section and if he had his way we would have spent a majority of our day just petting animals!

Ooh have a great trip to Las Vagas (hope you share pics) and Brazil. Congrats on your 10 year anniversary

Good luck with the fertility treatments - I hope everything works out for you guys.

Thank you. I don't blame Zaheer for wanting to spend more time brushing the animals. It quite relaxing.

Q

 

[natebenma]

Did you ever go to Vegas? Any suggestions??

Rafiki did not try any moves on me. I guess I am not his type. I will make sure to pay more attention next time.

Q

I thought I had replied to these. Guess not!

Never been to Vegas, so unfortunately I don't have any tips for you.

My friend is a redhead- maybe that is what Rafiki likes!

My son Nate is up against Joey in Fantasty Football this week. Nate is currently up 20 points, but Joey still has a player active in tonight's game. It's gonna be a close one!!!

 

[Queila]

Day 5- Monday- May 16th 2011- Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ

So lunch time at Animal Kingdom is a no brainer for us.

Flame Tree BBQ is our absolute favorite counter service at WDW and, frankly, the thought of eating elsewhere does not really cross our minds.

I wanted to try the pulled pork sandwich this time but decided to stick to my old favorite: the ribs!!

So Joey and I both had the St- Louis ribs with beans and cole slaw:

Key lime mousse for dessert which I have to admit is not the best I have ever had. I love all desserts with key lime but I think next time I will go for the chocolate mousse.

Beatriz had the chicken drumstick but for some reason we took no pictures of it. It looks like she had grapes for dessert:

Flame Tree BBQ scores an A+ in every category in my book: food, ambiance, service, theming etc.

You gotta love the irony of devouring some ribs admiring the themeing of the predator versus prey.

And let's not forget about the view!

A happy and satisfied family:

At the end of our meal we stopped for a picture of us and Expedition Everest but what is really remarkable about this shot is the BBQ sauce in my shirt which I did not notice until I came home and saw the pictures.

YEP. I remained dirty for the rest of the day and never even noticed it.

You would think someone would have let me know...

Next up:
Afternoon at Animal Kingdom​

 

[TanzUnited99]

I'm glad you enjoyed Flame Tree Barbeque so much and the view looks fantastic!

Oh no at the BBQ sauce on your shirt - I probably wouldn't have spotted it if you hadn't mentioned it!

 

[Queila]

Day 5- Monday- May 17th 2011 - Animal Kingdom Day- Afternoon- Part 1.

So our afternoon at Animal Kingdom proceeded pretty much on the same manner of our morning: we saw lots of characters, lots of animals, some shows and no thrill rides because, you know, WE ARE BORING.

After our lunch our immediate goal was to make it to Camp Minnie- Mickey for "The Festival of the Lion King" but we barely made a couple of steps and we saw Lilo and Stitch so we HAD TO stop for pictures:

Lilo & Stitch were a lot of fun and the interaction was great so Joey and I decided to join in and hang loose:

Somewhere nearby there was also a DVC stand and we took this cute picture of Beatriz:

The funny thing is that we hang around the DVC stand for a couple of minutes looking at their information but the DVC guy never really approached us. I think he was busy serving someone else. If only he knew how tempted we were to buy DVC after our visit to AKL the night before. I think at that point we wouldn't need too much convincing but we got out of there before we did something impulsively great.

After the pictures it was time for yet another potty break and somewhere along the way we found our favorite WDW benches: the crocodile ones!

In 2010 we took one of our favorite pictures on this bench so we wanted to try to re create it.

2010:

After many takes this was the best we could come up with:

Close enough I guess...

Finally we get to camp Minnie- Mickey with time to spare before the show so we ask Beatriz to chose a character to meet and she picked Chip & Dale so we got in line.

With Chip:

And Dale:

And then they invited me to join them for the picture:

They were very cute and they were very happy to have a page each in the autograph book. My husband was impressed that I could actually tell Chip & Dale apart.

Well, honey, I do not spend all that time at the Disboards for nothing now, DO I???

After the pictures we saw the Festival on the Lion King and for the first time ever we did not get seated in the very back of the theater so it was like seeing the show for the very first time.

Much beter when you can be up close and personal. Very Cirque du Soleil- ish.

The festival was a lot of fun and Beatriz enjoyed the singing along and learning the hand movements before the show and then using them during the show. Sorry but no pictures.

On our way out of Camp Minnie- Mickey Beatriz stopped to play in one of the play stations. She had to put her hand inside the holes of this "tree trunk", touch an object and then identify it among the objects in a bin:

I don't think she fully got the concept but she did have fun. The CM gave us a map with a Camp Minnie- Mickey stamp on it and apparently you can visit similar stations in the other areas of the park and collect the stamps but we wil save this activity for another trip. Bea is still too young to care about collecting stams and things like that...

(Cont. next post)


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[Queila]

(Continued from previous post)

Day 5- Monday- May 16th 2011- Animal Kingdom- Afternoon- Part 2.

So at this point we decided to cross to Dinoland to see the Nemo show but we got distracted with yet more characters along the way.

I am telling you this afternoon at AK became a big, fat character hunt and Beatriz was loving every minute of it.

And here is who we saw:

Pooh made a big deal about his page in our autograph book:

Eeyore:

And Tigger:

I really liked the set up of this meet & greet. I had never been there before and I loved the background and the ambiance of the place.

So we headed to Dinoland we not too much time to spare before the Nemo show. At this point I was craving an ice cream or some sort of cold snack but I was afraid I was not going to be allowed into the theater with it so I decided not to risk it.

We made it to "Nemo, the Musical" just in time and got some ok seats on the right hand side of the theater.

This is MY favorite live show of all WDW. Brings tears to my eyes EVERY TIME. Beatriz loves it too but I have a feeling her favorite part is trying to spot Nemo on the bubble screens in the pre show. Click here for a 34 sec video and check out her level of excitment.

It is the type of memory that makes it all worth it.

After the show I finally got to have a refreshment. I bought some Edy's chocolate dibs and they totally hit the spot. Still on Dinoland we decided to go for a ride.

Do you think we were brave enough to make it to DINOSAUR??

Well, of course not! I went on Dinosaur once in my life and I am ok if I never go again.

Seriously. I am that boring.

So triceratops it is!

So now we made our way to Asia so we could go on the Marahajah trail. In 2010 we made the Pangani trail but now we were looking forward to seeing some bats and tigers.

When we got to Asia I looked for the place to have a frozen chai. I had read it was really yummy but I had failed to realize it was not considered a snack in the Dining Plan. Even though I wanted to taste it I refused to pay for a snack when I still had over 14 snack credits on my plan to be used.

I know. Boring AND cheap. I am such a catch!

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[mickeystoontown]

Very cute pictures with the characters! You can tell Beatriz is loving meeting all of them. I can't say that I blame you for being cheap and not trying the frozen chai. If I have snack credits left, I only use those as well.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Wow you sure met a lot of characters!! I love all the pics and how excited Beatriz is in the video. We never got round to watching Nemo but I hope to get there on a future trip.

 

[natebenma]

What a great day you are having at AK!!!

I guess I didn't comment on your Flame Tree update. Great pictures of your food and the view.

I insisted that we eat here on one of our first trips to AK. We could not find the restaurant! I think we walked from Asia to Africa and back again, and we were hot and hungry and exhausted by the time we actually found it. We found a table near the counter area, so we didn't have an amazing view. Unfortunately, my family is not in a rush to go back, but I would like to try it again. Tamu Tamu, the restaurant that guests forgot, is our go-to at AK.

Again, fantastic pictures with the characters! The Lilo and Stich ones are great and who needs Crystal Palace when you can get such amazing photos with the Pooh charcters? Love the one with Beatriz surrounded by Eeyore's ear. So cute!

The video of Beatriz at Nemo made me smile. I love the small details Disney adds to its attractions to make them more fun for all ages!

Oh, that stinks that the frozen Chai is not a snack credit!!! I can totally relate about not paying out of pocket when you have a bank of credits on your card! One of my low points was telling my 9 year old that he couldn't have a water because that was not a good use of a snack credit! (I did change my mind and let my thirsty child get the drink)

 

[ronnmel]

I love thrill rides, but I also love meeting characters so I would have no problem with spending a day like you guys did. I love the place for meeting Pooh and friends too! It's tucked away, shaded, beautiful, and was not crowded at all when we went.