MinnieGi
DVC/BWV
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2001
- Messages
- 4,264
Cast of Characters:
Me - Gi
DH - Ace
DD - Tatiana (2yo)
Thursday, Nov. 7th - Animal Kingdom
No EE day for AK today, but since it was MK EE day I thought for sure AK would not be crowded - WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We pulled up at 8:45 expecting to get a decent spot for their 9:00 opening. Yikes, we are in a tram distance parking lot already!!! Got to the gate to find people poring off the resort busses too! Luckily they were letting people in and security lines weren't too bad, but once you made it in, it was wall to wall people. The little pathways leading into the park make it feel even more congested. Not to mention the people that stop in the middle of the pathway to take pictures of the animals on the side. Now, it is a beautiful park and I like the entryway path, but on a crowded morning I wished they had a sign stating "Take pictures on your way OUT of the park of these animals!"
Things brightend up a little once we got away from the crowds by heading over to Camp Minnie-Mickey. Most people seemed to be headed to other lands, but our first order of business was the "Festival of the Lion King" show. Which we saw last year for the first time and it was a "must-do" on our list. We also wanted good seats for DD to see well. We qued up right away and were only about 10 people back from the front. To our delight they started letting us into the theatre after only about five minutes standing time. We got perfect seats for us, first riser up in the "lion" secction. DD knows how to imitate a lion so she would enjoy this section and the first riser lets her have an unobstructed view. We had brought snacks so it was real nice to be able to eat them while sitting. This show does not disappoint. If you haven't seen it - I strongly recommend it!!
We then headed into Africa and boareded the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We were a little disappointed in this attraction. We just expected more at the Conservation Station. I'm not sure what, just more "stuff." The petting zoo was nice, but we do this alot at our zoo at home. However DD really liked the two train rides themselves. She called this train and MK's "Thomas."
We headed out of Africa on our way to Dinoland, but stopped first at "Flame Tree Barbeque." This is a counter service eatery, but it has some wonderful open-air pavilions to eat under. Ours was right on the water canal that seperates Asia and Dinsoland. On the Asian side they had recreated the remnants of a long ago Asian shore bank complete with an anchored boat in the background. There were also plenty of sun fish and lilipads to look at, very serene and away from the crowds. The food is very decent too especially for counter service. DH and I both had the shredded pork sandwich that came with a cup of baked beans and small corn on the cub. DD had the mini hot dogs that came with chips, she also had quite a bit of our corn.
After lunch we walked into Dinoland USA and straight to Tri-Ceratops Spin. We knew DD would like it a bunch. As soon as she saw it, she called it "Dumbo." It of course was a big hit. We explored the rest of Dinoland and stopped at the Boneyard slides and dig site. Tatiana had a blast here! She especially enjoyed all the slides. We stayed here a long time. I think DD did all the slides at least once. DH even took her up on the very tall ones. She slid down by herself and asked to go again! We also went over to excavate dinosaur bones in the sand. DD liked this activity also. After another lenghty stay we talked DD into going onto see some animals on the Asian walking path.
The Asian walking path was done very nicely. We saw some huge bats hanging from trees, a small komodo dragon and beautiful tigers. They also had a bird aviary, but DD was getting very sleepy, but refused to lay down in our reclining stroller so we didn't see much else and headed on out.
Tatiana took a long nap back in our villa. DH and I had some nice time alone, very nice!
DH had seen a big McDonald's on the way back from AK and was hoping it would have a big playground for DD so we headed there for dinner. It was a huge McDonald's but no playground. It did have a giant screen on the wall that playing "Monsters, Inc." DD likes Sully and Mike, so we watched and ate our dinner.
Then we headed back to OKW to start packing up. I was very sad our vacation was almost over, it of course had gone very fast. We did all the major packing up rather quickly. Another nice benefit of OKW was the washer/dryer. I washed almost all our dirty clothes over the last few days and was able to take home a packed suitcase of CLEAN clothes! Nice!
After packing we gave DD her last bath in the huge hot tub. It was like a mini-water park for her.
She would sit on the little tub seat and slide into the water. Actually we all enjoyed this tub several times over our week's visit!!!! Our jacuzzi tub at home is not so big! 
Tomorrow: Chef Mickey's & MK
Me - Gi
DH - Ace
DD - Tatiana (2yo)
Thursday, Nov. 7th - Animal Kingdom
No EE day for AK today, but since it was MK EE day I thought for sure AK would not be crowded - WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We pulled up at 8:45 expecting to get a decent spot for their 9:00 opening. Yikes, we are in a tram distance parking lot already!!! Got to the gate to find people poring off the resort busses too! Luckily they were letting people in and security lines weren't too bad, but once you made it in, it was wall to wall people. The little pathways leading into the park make it feel even more congested. Not to mention the people that stop in the middle of the pathway to take pictures of the animals on the side. Now, it is a beautiful park and I like the entryway path, but on a crowded morning I wished they had a sign stating "Take pictures on your way OUT of the park of these animals!" Things brightend up a little once we got away from the crowds by heading over to Camp Minnie-Mickey. Most people seemed to be headed to other lands, but our first order of business was the "Festival of the Lion King" show. Which we saw last year for the first time and it was a "must-do" on our list. We also wanted good seats for DD to see well. We qued up right away and were only about 10 people back from the front. To our delight they started letting us into the theatre after only about five minutes standing time. We got perfect seats for us, first riser up in the "lion" secction. DD knows how to imitate a lion so she would enjoy this section and the first riser lets her have an unobstructed view. We had brought snacks so it was real nice to be able to eat them while sitting. This show does not disappoint. If you haven't seen it - I strongly recommend it!!
We then headed into Africa and boareded the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We were a little disappointed in this attraction. We just expected more at the Conservation Station. I'm not sure what, just more "stuff." The petting zoo was nice, but we do this alot at our zoo at home. However DD really liked the two train rides themselves. She called this train and MK's "Thomas."
We headed out of Africa on our way to Dinoland, but stopped first at "Flame Tree Barbeque." This is a counter service eatery, but it has some wonderful open-air pavilions to eat under. Ours was right on the water canal that seperates Asia and Dinsoland. On the Asian side they had recreated the remnants of a long ago Asian shore bank complete with an anchored boat in the background. There were also plenty of sun fish and lilipads to look at, very serene and away from the crowds. The food is very decent too especially for counter service. DH and I both had the shredded pork sandwich that came with a cup of baked beans and small corn on the cub. DD had the mini hot dogs that came with chips, she also had quite a bit of our corn.
After lunch we walked into Dinoland USA and straight to Tri-Ceratops Spin. We knew DD would like it a bunch. As soon as she saw it, she called it "Dumbo." It of course was a big hit. We explored the rest of Dinoland and stopped at the Boneyard slides and dig site. Tatiana had a blast here! She especially enjoyed all the slides. We stayed here a long time. I think DD did all the slides at least once. DH even took her up on the very tall ones. She slid down by herself and asked to go again! We also went over to excavate dinosaur bones in the sand. DD liked this activity also. After another lenghty stay we talked DD into going onto see some animals on the Asian walking path.
The Asian walking path was done very nicely. We saw some huge bats hanging from trees, a small komodo dragon and beautiful tigers. They also had a bird aviary, but DD was getting very sleepy, but refused to lay down in our reclining stroller so we didn't see much else and headed on out.
Tatiana took a long nap back in our villa. DH and I had some nice time alone, very nice!
DH had seen a big McDonald's on the way back from AK and was hoping it would have a big playground for DD so we headed there for dinner. It was a huge McDonald's but no playground.
It did have a giant screen on the wall that playing "Monsters, Inc." DD likes Sully and Mike, so we watched and ate our dinner.Then we headed back to OKW to start packing up.
I was very sad our vacation was almost over, it of course had gone very fast. We did all the major packing up rather quickly. Another nice benefit of OKW was the washer/dryer. I washed almost all our dirty clothes over the last few days and was able to take home a packed suitcase of CLEAN clothes! Nice!After packing we gave DD her last bath in the huge hot tub. It was like a mini-water park for her.
She would sit on the little tub seat and slide into the water. Actually we all enjoyed this tub several times over our week's visit!!!! Our jacuzzi tub at home is not so big! Tomorrow: Chef Mickey's & MK
