Meet me at the Snuggly Duckling! A June 2018 TR. UPDATED 3/8

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Luvin the Gaston photos, I think I would be a little awkward with him as well. He's very eh... sure of himself

That's one way of putting it!

Give Pandora a try, I bet you will love it!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I have just returned from my two week vacation on the West Coast visiting my dad and brother. I expect I will get back into a regular posting schedule starting tomorrow.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

June 15 - Animal Kingdom

Rewind a bit, I forgot to post our morning balcony photos!

Here were our visitors that morning:







Now back to where I left off!

Having done what we could in Pandora for the time being we decided to move on as we were still in extra magic hours.

We made our way to Africa





Unfortunately the safari wasn't open for EMH so we made our way to Expedition Everest instead.















I was nervous going on Everest as last year when I was at Cedar Point I did not fair well on the roller coasters. I was nervous I would feel ill again which would mean that I am getting too old for coasters. Well, my stomach flipped a bit and I felt a bit off for a minute or two after getting off the ride but nothing like I experienced last year so that was a good sign!



After Everest we made our way back to Africa for our breakfast reservation at Tusker House.

We had to wait about 15 minutes after checking in as we were a bit early. We took the opportunity to get hydrated as there was a water station in the area and it was really hot outside.

We had eaten at Tusker House back in 2008 and it seems as though it was much bigger than before and the entrance had been moved but perhaps my memory is just off?



The characters were not anywhere near our section of the restaurant so we went ahead and got some food after we were seated.





The food was all delicious and I drank several glasses of "Jungle Juice". I was stuffed by the end of the meal. Perhaps not the best idea for such a hot day...

We had to wait a bit after we were finished eating to see the last of the characters, maybe an extra 15 minutes?

























I just love the safari outfits that the characters wear in Animal Kingdom!

After we left the restaurant Mom went to find the restroom and I took some photos around the area.













It was a beautiful day at Animal kingdom but it was freaking hot!!!

 

[tazdev3225]

I love Animal Kingdom. Not a huge fan of Expedition Everest as I always bang my head and get dizzy for a bit after, but I have a bad back and shouldn't be on it anyway. I skip it 99% of the time now.

Tusker House is a fun breakfast. We have a smorgasbord restaurant in my area that I go to once in awhile. It's an hour drive so nit as often as I would like but I took the grandkids today as they had off from school. I was thrilled to see a Passionfruit/Orange/Guava Juice at the drink stand. It was close enough to Disney's that I may have to go more often.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Your meal at TH looks yummy, I love the ham there, my favorite!

I am definitely to old for EE, I can’t do the backwards part, the g force is to much for me!

 

[Steppesister]

I was nervous going on Everest as last year when I was at Cedar Point I did not fair well on the roller coasters. I was nervous I would feel ill again which would mean that I am getting too old for coasters. Well, my stomach flipped a bit and I felt a bit off for a minute or two after getting off the ride but nothing like I experienced last year so that was a good sign!

Phew!!! I'd hate to see that coming to an end!

After we left the restaurant Mom went to find the restroom and I took some photos around the area.

I've never seen that area before!! Cool!

This is a very lovely shot!

 

[paradesintherain]

Super cute shirt! I've never gotten lucky when asking for different sizes in the back so I'm very glad it worked out for you!

t was a thankless task for sure and we felt she should have had more CM's there to help as the situation was out of control. Way too much for one person to handle.

Ugh yes, crowd control CMs have such a hard job and guests can be downright abusive toward them

This is great!

I LOVED Happily Ever After.

Yay!! I'm so happy you loved it!

Looooove pictures with photos in the foreground

In that moment my life flashed before my eyes as I was nearly taken out by a crazy lady driving an ECV. She whipped that thing around so fast with no regard of who may be around her in her rush to get to the line. If I had not jumped back I could have been seriously injured or at least injured enough to ruin the rest of my trip.

Yikes! Glad you were able to jump out of the way in time

I have just returned from my two week vacation on the West Coast visiting my dad and brother.

Your pictures on Instagram have been lovely; looks like it was a really fantastic trip!

I just love the safari outfits that the characters wear in Animal Kingdom!

They are super cute!

 

[missangelalexis]

Cute pics at Tusker House! I agree, the outfits are adorable!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I love Animal Kingdom. Not a huge fan of Expedition Everest as I always bang my head and get dizzy for a bit after, but I have a bad back and shouldn't be on it anyway. I skip it 99% of the time now.

Tusker House is a fun breakfast. We have a smorgasbord restaurant in my area that I go to once in awhile. It's an hour drive so nit as often as I would like but I took the grandkids today as they had off from school. I was thrilled to see a Passionfruit/Orange/Guava Juice at the drink stand. It was close enough to Disney's that I may have to go more often.

That's awesome that you have a place near you with POG juice! So yummy!

Your meal at TH looks yummy, I love the ham there, my favorite!

I am definitely to old for EE, I can’t do the backwards part, the g force is to much for me!

The backwards part definitely makes my stomach flip. I hope i can still handle it when I go back.

Phew!!! I'd hate to see that coming to an end!

I know! It will be a sad day when I can't ride coasters anymore. It will upset my brother as well as I am the only member of the family that will ride with him.

Your pictures on Instagram have been lovely; looks like it was a really fantastic trip!

Thanks! It was a great trip.

 

[OhMari]

I hear a lot of people say Animal Kingdom is so darn hot.

I just read they are shutting down Rafferty Planet Comfort Zone. Sad, we always have enjoyed the train ride-but I never understood how the train only went one way, how did the train get back.

 

[petals]

Great update. My Momma has nightmares about Tusker House There was a waiter there called Neil last time we went and he kept bugging her trying to entertain her when she wanted to be left alone to eat.

 

[Steppesister]

I know! It will be a sad day when I can't ride coasters anymore. It will upset my brother as well as I am the only member of the family that will ride with him.

Maybe get a scop patch?

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Maybe get a scop patch?

Good suggestion, I wonder if they are sold up here? I have never seen them in the drug store but I have never had to look for them.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I hear a lot of people say Animal Kingdom is so darn hot.

I just read they are shutting down Rafferty Planet Comfort Zone. Sad, we always have enjoyed the train ride-but I never understood how the train only went one way, how did the train get back.

I can't say I have noticed AK to be hotter than the other parks as others say but it was certainly hot that day but I found it extremely hot in all the parks on our trip.

I wonder why they are closing down Rafiki's? Only been back there once but I know people always seem to enjoy it.

Great update. My Momma has nightmares about Tusker House There was a waiter there called Neil last time we went and he kept bugging her trying to entertain her when she wanted to be left alone to eat.

A good server knows the fine balance of attentiveness and distance.

 

[petals]

A good server knows the fine balance of attentiveness and distance.

I thought it was hilarious especially when he came over with three empty cups and pretended to slip and almost spill hot chocolate on her. She went from shocked to anger in about 3.5 seconds and I’ve never seen a waiter scoot away as quick in my life

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

June 15 - Animal Kingdom

Leaving Tusker House we made our way over to Kilimanjaro Safaris for our fastpass. We were momentarily frightened when we saw a huge line extending from the fastpass entrance. Turns out there were just a few groups clogging the entrance not knowing what to do/being too early/didn't have fastpass. Once we were in the actual line it was a short wait.

While this was not the most active safari as far as animals we did get to see the baby hippo, Augustus, in the water and there was also an adorable baby elephant so it was a good safari in my eyes.













So cute!!!!











As is our routine, after the safari we explored the Gorilla Falls trail. It was our lucky day as the gorillas were very active! There was a baby playing around and getting in trouble with his mama and there were a ton of bachelor gorillas out, I counted at least five.

Can you spot the gorilla sitting by the falls? We got to see him before we even entered the trail as he was near the exit to Kilimanjaro.

























We were more than ready for our next fastpass as we were melting. It was time for Kali River Rapids. We had not been on this ride since our first trip back in 2007. I had booked it for noon figuring we would want to cool down by this point in the day.











I really loved the queue for Kali, lots of interesting things to look at.













Unfortunately, we did not really cool down as we barely got wet.

 

[missangelalexis]

Nice safari & trail pics! And I like the pics on your way to KRR, very pretty!

 

[Cloe Colton]

I feel like if you go into Kali River Rapids wanting to get wet you usually don't!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Hi Lessa, I've been slowly reading and getting caught up on your report for a while now. Just thought I would let you know I was here! I just had my first experience with Pandora in August and like you, I was impressed with it. I wasn't sure what to expect or how I would feel about Avatar being in AK, but I think it does kind of fit and they did an amazing job with the land.

 

[tazdev3225]

Love the Gorilla pics. I can spend all day watching them. My son has loved them since he was little, even did a paper on how gorillas are like people. Mom does all the work and dad just lays around picking his toes. I always loved that comparison.

I have never been on Kali River as I'm afraid of my camera getting wet. I am sure I asked you before but what kind of camera do you use? You have some wonderful pictures.