Live from Disney World it's Karen's latest trip! Entire trip posted!

[TLinden16]

Day 1--Friday, May 12, 2006

My 20th trip to Walt Disney World is finally here! I went into work for a half a day, and I could barely concentrate because I was so excited about my trip! It had been a cold, rainy week in Boston, and I couldn’t wait to leave it behind for the Florida sun. This was an exceptionally dreary day, with fog so thick that we could even see a quarter mile from our offices!

I was finally able to leave at 12:30, and a nice co-worker drove me over to the airport. I got to the airport a couple hours early, but that’s all right. I just wandered around, and read for a while. My flight was all boarded at 2:30, and the captain announced we were ready for an early departure for the 2:45 flight. But he was mistaken. A 2:43, a family of four came running onto the plane, carrying there shoes. Someone cut it close getting to the airport.

The flight wound up taking off a few minutes late. The takeoff was surprisingly smooth considering the fog in Boston, and the entire flight was very calm. They even showed a movie--Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah, which was pretty funny.

We landed just a few minutes late at 5:45, and I made an immediate beeline for Magical Express. There was no one in line for Magical Express, and then there was no one in line for the bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. A bus came right away, but I had to sit on that bus for 25 minutes waiting for more passengers. When we finally left, we had the slowest driver ever. Magical Express buses and other vehicles were passing us constantly. It was kind of frustrating. The buses made stops at Pop Century and Coronado Springs before heading to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have to say that I think Disney should reverse the order of the route. I think it would be a good marketing tool for them to have the folks staying at the lower levels of resorts to see the higher level of resorts--maybe it would inspire them to stay at the next level of resort on their next trip.

When I arrived at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I immediately went to check in. I asked the cast member at the desk if I made a mistake by booking a standard room, and she said, “Let me see. They’ve assigned you a savannah view room. You’ll be able to look at the animals.” Needless to say I was very excited! In all of my stay at the Disney resorts, I had never been upgraded, and this was a nice upgrade!

I was in room 4182, which was the last room on the hall of the Ostrich trail. I really liked my room. The woods on the furniture are dark, but it was accented by bright bed spreads and light colored curtains about the bed. The room was larger than I expected. I loved the tiles in the shower stall, and took pictures of it in hopes that I can someday do that to my bathroom.

Now to check out the view! There was a roof right below my balcony, and a maintenance area was too the right, but it still had a great view of the Savannah. I took a quick peek out the door of my balcony, and saw some birds and impala right outside my door!

But I didn’t have time to stay and look. I had plans to meet some of my DIS friends for dinner at Boma. SeaSpray, her husband CapeCad, and Taryn had already been seated by the time I arrived. I went immediately to the table, and was happy to see my friends! I really enjoyed my dinner at Boma. I was starving, so I think I ate just about everything in sight. I think my favorite things on the buffet were the chicken and corn porridge (very flavorful, and slightly sweet), the prime rib (very tender), and the mealie bread (surprisingly light). I loved the flavor of the sirloin steak in a seasoned sauce, but the steak was much to tough to really enjoy it. I was pretty full by the time desert came around, so I only tried a few bites.

After dinner, we headed over to Epcot. We arrived around 9:30, and we got quite a bit done while we were there. We road on Journey Into Imagination, Rio Del Tiempo, the Maelstrom, and Test Track (which we got on in just five minutes at the end of the night. While we were waiting in line for Test Track, we noticed that someone had made an attempt to make the man at work sign anatomically correct. I don’t know why people have to do that kind of stuff--it’s just not right. I mentioned it to a cast member, and made a note to try to notice if it was cleaned later in the week.

At midnight, we strolled out of the parks, and got on the bus back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had a very nice bus driver named Laura who asked “outside the box” Disney trivia, and kept us entertained the entire ride.

It had been a nice start to my trip.

Today’s mileage: 3.05

 

[TLinden16]

Day 2--Saturday, May 13, 2006

After a decent night’s sleep, I woke up early to get a jump start on my first full day at Walt Disney World. I went down to Mara and grabbed a breakfast platter for breakfast, and brought it back to my room. It included scrambled eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes, and a biscuit. It was surprisingly good for a quick service breakfast--everything was warm and fresh.

I spent some time sitting on my balcony watching the animals. There was a giraffe standing right outside my door grazing on a tree, and I saw a few impala and ostriches. I wish that my youngest niece had been there. She is a major animal fan, and it would have been nice to share this with her.

I headed over to the Animal Kingdom, where I would be meeting up with a bunch of DIS folks for a meet. I had some time before the meet, so I went and grabbed a fast pass for Expedition Everest. Everest was down, so I left the area and headed to take a spin on Primeval Whirl. I road with a really nice, random occasional DISer.

I then headed over to the Festival of the Lion King. I absolutely adore this show. It is so much fun. The cast is always wonderful, and I really enjoy watching the tumble monkeys.

I then headed back to Everest to grab another Fast Pass to give to a friend who would be joining me, and noticed the single riders line had just opened, so I jumped right into line and took a ride on Expedition Everest. I really love this ride. It is going to make the Animal Kingdom a ride I have to go on every trip rather than just an occasional visit.

I went over to the Flame Tree Barbecue to meet with the other DISers from the Virtual Magic Kingdom forum. About 20 people showed up, and it was nice to put faces to the folks I’ve gotten to know playing VMK. I’m not even going to attempt to name who was there because I’d probably wind up leaving out a few people, and I wouldn’t want to do that.

I grabbed a pulled pork sandwich, corn on the cob, and seasoned fries during the meet. The sandwich and corn on the cob were excellent. I put the spicy and sweet barbecue sauce on my sandwich, which was very tasty. The seasoned fries were nothing special.

After eating and chatting, some folks ran over to the safari to grab fast passes, and everyone went over to Expedition Everest to see if we could ride in the single rides line. The line was so long that they had closed it off to new riders. We wound up deciding to go into the standby line. It was nice to be able to chat as we walked along with our new friends.

We then went over to the Safari to use the fast passes that everyone got earlier. I was surprised by the amount of animals out in the mid-day sun! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many animals awake and being active as I did on this ride.

We then stopped at the Tusker House, where the folks who didn’t each lunch earlier got a meal, and the rest of us got a snack. I wound up getting a cinnamon roll, which was very good, sweet, and sticky the way cinnamon rolls should be.

We then went to take another ride on Expedition Everest. Since there out group had decreased to six people, we were able to get all of us on the same photo. We decided that the people in the front should not put their hands up so that we would not block the faces of the folks in back. BobRichmond and Flying Pegasus were in the front of our car. I was in the center with Alyce. Aeryn and Califgirl were in the back.
Alyce and I decided to pray for our survival in the picture. The picture is a lot of fun.

After riding Everest, we all headed over to Disney/MGM Studios. We were meeting up with some more DISers to have dinner at the 50’s Prime Time Café. We stopped at the pin trading station, browsed around in a couple of shops, and chatted for a while before heading to the restaurant. We had it in two separate reservations, but we lucked out and they put our entire party of ten together. I started off with some chicken noodle soup, which was a bit bland. For my entrée I got pot roast, which was very good, although the meat was a bit fatty. I also got Dad’s Electric Lemonade, which was excellent, and filled with a lot of liquor. I was going to order a caramel sundae for dessert, but Califgirl and her husband were on the dining plan, and the shared their S’mores and Dad’s sundae with all of us. Overall, I enjoyed our meal, although our server wasn’t the best server I’ve ever had there--we were a large group ready to have some fun, and she didn’t seem to have any interest in it.

After dinner, we all went over to ride the Great Movie Ride. We were in the first couple of rows, and I was seated right next to the driver. We had a great driver, and a really fun gangster in our car.

I then said goodbye to most of our group, and headed over to Jellyrolls with Flying Pegasus. Several other DISers would be joining us later in the evening, but Flying Pegasus headed over to the bar early to scope out a great table down front so I could watch my beloved Ray and Scotty play. Michael and Tommy were the other pairing that evening. While we were walking from MGM, Flying Pegasus and I ran into piano man Michael, and chatted with him while we walked to the bar.

Jellyrolls was as fun as ever. Some of our group had never been there before, so it was nice to expose some new people to Jellyrolls. We all really had a blast singing along and dancing in my seat. I requested the guys sing some of my favorite songs for my friends:

Scotty--Beyond the Sea
Ray--Mack the Knife and Jenny (867-5309)
Tommy--Big Yellow Taxi and some James Taylor

One of my favorite parts of the night was getting to hear Scotty sing “Build Me Up Buttercup” again for the first time in two years. It seems that I never get to hear him sing that song anymore. Since all of the guys know it, it always seems that one of the others sing it while I’m there, so I was thrilled to hear Scotty sing it again.

All of my friends left by midnight, but I wound up staying until the bar closed at 2:00 am. I hitched a ride back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and was back in my room at about 2:30. I stood out on my balcony for a spell and watched an impala grazing on the grass. I was finally in bed by about 3:00, after being out of my room from 8:00 a.m. that morning.

Today’s mileage: 6.37

 

[wvgoofyfan]

Your trip report is excellent! I almost feel as if I were there! Thanks for sharing........

Please post more

 

[sharonW]

Hey Karen...So glad your having fun. Hope you get
your fill of jellyrolls!! Is that possible?? Miss you in chat
and looking forward to hearing the rest of your report
as the magic continues!! Say Hi to the mouse and pleeze
bring me back some pixie dust so I can go back one day!!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Glad to see that you are back to your second home WDW. Glad you could visit with so many other dis friends.

 

[pumba]

thanks karen for the good report......I have been home for a little over a week and I wish I was back too..
have fun

 

[OhMari]

Hi Karen,
Good score on the upgrade at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Glad you are having a great time. Get some needed rest too if that is possible at WDW. Don't forget about us lowly folks waiting for the rest of your trip report.

 

[KayTX]

Hi Karen Sure am enjoying your splendid trip reports. Glad you're there and having a fun trip!

 

[TLinden16]

Day 3--Sunday, May 14, 2006

I was up bright and early at 7:00 despite not getting home from Jellyrolls until 2:30 a.m. I got ready, and grabbed a crossiant at Mara. I brought it back to my room, and ate while I did some last minute packing for my move to the Boardwalk (Home Sweet Home). I also spent a bit more time looking at the animals.

After dropping my luggage off with bell services, I took the bus over to Epcot. I road on grabbed a fast pass for Soarin', and jumped in the stand by line. After riding Soarin', it headed over to Test Track, and walked right on (there were so few people that they wound up just putting the single riders in the main line when you got to the preshow). I did notice that the sign that had been made anatomically correct on Friday had been cleaned.

I met a really nice high school senior from New Jersey who was touring the park alone while his friends were getting ready to march in the Magic Kingdom parade. We wound up walking over to Mission: Space together, and taking a ride.

I then headed out to walk over to the Boardwalk to check in. My room wasn't ready yet, so I got my key to the world, and took the bus over to Downtown Disney. I had lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed by it this trip. The bread was good, but the meat on my roast beef sandwich was very fatty and grizzly. Not what I expect from the place that makes the best sandwiches ever.

After lunch, I made a few stops along the way as I walked over to Saratoga Springs, where I had a meeting planned with my new DVC guide. It took me about 15 minutes to walk from the West Side over to Saratoga Springs, which wasn't too bad.

After my meeting, I got a ride back to the Boardwalk in a DVC van, and went to check to see if my room was ready. My room was available, but my luggage had not yet arrived from the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I walked over to the Beach Club to browse around in the shop, and sat on a bench over there, looking across to the Boardwalk. I never tire of looking at the view from any point around that little lake in the Epcot resort area. I just love looking at the Boardwalk and the Beach Club.

I then walked back over to my room, and my luggage had arrived. I quickly got settled in my room, and took the bus over to the Magic Kingdom. I was meeting some friends for dinner over at the Polynesian, so I took the monorail there. I browsed around the gift shop, and got a frozen strawberry daqauri at the bar (although it wasn't really frozen).

We were seated at a table by the window, but some trees blocked our view of the castle. I asked them to cut the tops of the trees off, but the never got around to it. The food at Ohana is excellent. I can make a meal out of the chicken wings, salad, and potatoes. The steak was a bit on the tough side, but the pork was awesome. A lot of times pork winds up being very dry when it was cooked, bu this pork was very juicy. The bread pudding with banana foster's sauce was absolutely sinfully delicious.

While we were eating, the entertainer had all the kids line up to do the hula. Chef Kim, a big hulking guy, was doing the hula near the grill, and it was just about one of the coolest things ever! We cheered him on, and he wound up coming over to say hello to our table.

After dinner, we browsed around in the gift shop, and then took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. We stopped at Virtual Magic Kingdom Central for a little bit, and then went outside to watch Wishes. Nothing like seeing the sky behind the castle lit up with fireworks.

Since it was Extra Magic Hours, we grabbed our wristbands, and went on the Haunted Mansion. We then headed over to Fantasyland to see Mickey's Philharmagic.

I then said goodbye to my friends, and took the bus back to the Boardwalk to go to Jellyrolls. Actually, I got off at the Swan and walked from there, since it's quicker than going all the way to the Boardwalk.

I arrived at Jellyrolls a few minutes after 11:00, and Scotty and Ray were singing away. I grabbed my regular bar stool in the back, and sat back and enjoyed. When 12:00 rolled around, and it was time to switch up piano players, I was surprised to see that Scotty reamained on the stage, as there was only three piano players there that night. It was like Extra Magic Hours at Jellyrolls to get to see Scotty and Ray each sing for an extra hour that night! You know that makes me happy

I also got to see Tommy and Ray perform together, which was a special treat. I can remember seeing Tommy and Ray on my early trips to Jellyrolls back in the late 90's, but I can't recall ever having the chance to see them playing together. It sure was a lot of fun!

It was another fun night at Jellyrolls. I got to see Scotty and Ray sing "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," which is my favorite Billy Joel song, and one of my favorite songs to hear Scotty and Ray sing together. Tommy and Ray sang "Paradise By the Dashboard Light." Tommy was doing the girl parts, and Ray was doing the guy parts. When it came time for Tommy to ask Ray "What's it going to be boy, yes or no?" Ray replied, "Can we wait until the lights go on so I can see if there is anything better out there?"

I think this was one of the best nights I've ever enjoyed at Jellyrolls. Sitting there for three hours watching Scotty, Ray, and Tommy was just a perfect way to end the night. I am just so continually amazed by how talented the piano players are, and just how how amazing they are at their jobs. When they sing, I can tell how much fun they are having up there (especially Scotty and Ray). Each piano player has a unique style, and the amount of songs these guys know is just incredible. It is truly a great place to kick back and relax after a long day at the park.

 

[threeboysmom]

Hi Karen!! I am so excited to have found your trip report this morning!! And I am still so very jealous that you are still down in SUNNY WDW!

Don't you just LOVE the Animal Kingdom Lodge? I thought I would hate it since I'm not an "animal person" at all. But I loved sitting out on the balcony every day watching the animals - my DH would literally have to drag me away to get me into a park!

OK, going back to read Days 2 and 3 now while I enjoy my morning coffee

 

[missmun52]

I am loving your report. Whish I was there!!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent reports ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[MissK]

Fantastic report! Subscribing

 

[swillis]

You are crazy girl!!! When do you sleep???

 

[TLinden16]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm home from my trip now, and will be posting more soon.

 

[OhMari]

 

[pumba]

fantastic trip report and sounds like you had an awesome time.......I hate to come home So I know you do too......thanks for taking the time to post this ..

 

[threeboysmom]

Welcome home, Jellyrolls!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!! You're leaving us all on the edge, you know!

 

[Kaycee]

Hi Karen! I'm really enjoying your trip report so far (as always!) and I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

 

[twotoohappy]

Love reading you reports! Can't wait to read more! I'll be at JR on Friday and I've got a BW view too so after reading your report I'm so excited!