jsmla
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 4,498
7:00 am
Another early morning for the Prince. I want to leave in plenty of time for the opening of the Animal Kingdom. We've established a routine for our mornings at POFQ. I'm up bright and early to get ready and fetch the coffee. (BTW, don't you think it would be nice if the food court sold the morning papers? The gift shop doesn't open til 8. By 8:00 I have my hands full trying to get the royal butt in gear so I usually missed my morning news fix.) It's a quick trip to the food court from our room in Building 5 and I kinda like walking through the sleeping resort. Who am I trying to kid? I love walking around the Disney resorts early in the morning. It's my own private Disneyworld tradition. Just don't tell my family because they think I'm wonderfully selfless for bringing everyone their morning beverage.
7:15 am
The phone is off the hook and on the floor when I get back. Mickey called while I was out. I sure hope the Prince didn't offend. He's doing the pillow over the head thing again. Time for some fun. (See Day 2 of My Second Best Honeymoon Ever.)
7:30 am
His Royal Highness is finally awake, barely. If you're having trouble getting your troops lined up try turning the AC waaaay down and taking away all of their covers. Jumping up and down on the bed is optional. They'll probably be real mad, but they'll be awake.
7:45 am
Scott hits the bathroom, finally! I want to be on the first Safari.
8:00 am
I love the outside sinks at POFQ. This way I don't have to bang on the bathroom door. I have direct nagging access. Scott's devotion to dental hygiene is exemplary.
8:15 am
Have you ever seen a three-toed sloth? Well, imagine one trying to get dressed for a fun-filled morning at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Put on shorts, rest. Put on a shirt rest. Put on a sock, have a lie down.
8:30
For the next 30 minutes we will:
Finish the royal levee
Search for the royal baseball cap
Unload and repack the bag of stuff we carry with us everywhere we go
Stop by the food court for a refill
Return to the room for the keys to the royal carriage
Pay a visit to the bathroom.
Great! We're late. Again.
The drive over to the Animal Kingdom is fraught with tension. It's like this everytime we go somewhere. You'd think we'd learn. If Scott could move a little faster and I could be a little more patient our life together would be so much more harmonious. But we can't. We're doomed.
Animal Kingdom is really hopping by the time we roll in. Either crowd patterns have changed or the DIS was having one over on me. Early January was not proving to be a slow time. Quite the contrary, the wait for the Safari was already 30 minutes. Time for a Fast Pass.
Scott just loves the nature trails. The Pangani Forest one is especially nice. It's a little cool out. The gorillas are feeling frisky and put on a show. We spend a lot of time poking around all of the exhibits. Scott's one of those people who gets the bird spotting guide and pays real close attention to all the CM's spiels about the gorillas/okapi (sp? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention)/hippos. I'm one of those people who stand off to the side and call home on their cell phone. I don't like aviaries either. I'm not exactly afraid of birds. It's just that I don't like standing underneath them. Especially right after they've had their breakfast.
Kilimanjaro Safaris. The stand-by line is huge. With our fast passes we're on in less than 5 minutes. A lot of the people in standby give us dirty looks as we walk past. Too bad. Why doesn't everyone just use fast pass? Even I, the girl who thinks that nature smells bad and may or may not poop on your head, prefer visiting Pangani Forest to standing REALLY CLOSE to strangers for almost an hour. That's just me, though. It may be that you enjoy pressing up against people you don't know. Disneyworld has something for everyone.
We get to sit in the front row of the jeep thing which is kind of neat. We see all the usual wildlife with the added bonus of catching one of the cheetahs actually running. Even I perk up for this one. I'd never seen the fastest animal on land do anything but sleep. Scott and the driver get very excited.
Our next stop is the Flights of Wonder show. This is pretty good. If you sit just to the right of center (as you face the stage) the birds will fly over your head. Scott thought this was neato. If you want to actually interact with one of the birds, sit near the center and have a dollar bill ready to wave at the host when she asks for one. For the truly daring, you can volunteer to sit on stage and have a HUGE owl with VERY SHARP CLAWS fly straight at you if you like. No thanks, I've seen The Birds. I can also see the headlines now.
Giant Owl Rips Woman's Scalp From Head. Husband fascinated by magnificant display of natural behavior
It's too chilly for Kali River Rapids. I am a human divining rod. I have never been on one of these things and not gotten absolutely soaked. With the temps still in the 60s I'm not taking any chances. We did make a short stop at the exit bridge, however, so that Scott could shoot the big water pistols. (Ladies, your husband/boyfriend probably is dying to do this. Let him. It will make his day however silly it may seem to you.)
Our last attraction is the Marahajah Jungle Trek. I love the ancient temple ruins theme. The tigers are pretty neat too. There's just one problem with this place: the flying rats. Rats are the one thing I hate worse than bugs. I grew up surrounded by sugar cane fields and every year at harvest our house was invaded by mice. Once, I woke up to find a mouse actually sitting on me. A MOUSE. SITTING. ON ME.
I have definate rodent issues. The only rat I want to get up close and personal with had better be wearing red pants. Scott grew up in a city and thinks the bat exhibit is way cool.
I realize that today's report is a tad on the negative side. It's not Disney. It's me. I am not and probably never will be at one with the Animal Kingdom.
Lunchtime.
Due to this morning's fun and games we missed breakfast and are now starving. We have one Vacation Kingdom Lunch Voucher to use this trip. The last time we used one of these we ate at Le Cellier and it was wonderful. I'd read all about the Rainforest Cafe and how two could stuff themselves silly on one VKL voucher so we decided to give it a try. We didn't have PS and the wait was, oh, forever so we decided to sit in the bar. We had a quesedilla appetizer, the steak and lobster and a Bananas Foster-type dessert. Except for the dessert the food was only so-so. Sort of like a Chilli's. If I were to do this again I'd probably skip the lobster and add some sort of shrimp instead. The lobster tail was rubbery and the stuffing very bland. Le Cellier was much, much better.
Stuffed, if not satisfied, we waddled back toward the car. Remember the car? Of course not. We were too busy nursing individual resentments to notice anything as trivial as where we parked the car. It's another half hour before we're finally on our way to POFQ where we busy ourselves with an afternoon of beer and napping by the pool.
Jennifer
Another early morning for the Prince. I want to leave in plenty of time for the opening of the Animal Kingdom. We've established a routine for our mornings at POFQ. I'm up bright and early to get ready and fetch the coffee. (BTW, don't you think it would be nice if the food court sold the morning papers? The gift shop doesn't open til 8. By 8:00 I have my hands full trying to get the royal butt in gear so I usually missed my morning news fix.) It's a quick trip to the food court from our room in Building 5 and I kinda like walking through the sleeping resort. Who am I trying to kid? I love walking around the Disney resorts early in the morning. It's my own private Disneyworld tradition. Just don't tell my family because they think I'm wonderfully selfless for bringing everyone their morning beverage.
7:15 am
The phone is off the hook and on the floor when I get back. Mickey called while I was out. I sure hope the Prince didn't offend. He's doing the pillow over the head thing again. Time for some fun. (See Day 2 of My Second Best Honeymoon Ever.)
7:30 am
His Royal Highness is finally awake, barely. If you're having trouble getting your troops lined up try turning the AC waaaay down and taking away all of their covers. Jumping up and down on the bed is optional. They'll probably be real mad, but they'll be awake.
7:45 am
Scott hits the bathroom, finally! I want to be on the first Safari.
8:00 am
I love the outside sinks at POFQ. This way I don't have to bang on the bathroom door. I have direct nagging access. Scott's devotion to dental hygiene is exemplary.
8:15 am
Have you ever seen a three-toed sloth? Well, imagine one trying to get dressed for a fun-filled morning at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Put on shorts, rest. Put on a shirt rest. Put on a sock, have a lie down.
8:30
For the next 30 minutes we will:
Finish the royal levee
Search for the royal baseball cap
Unload and repack the bag of stuff we carry with us everywhere we go
Stop by the food court for a refill
Return to the room for the keys to the royal carriage
Pay a visit to the bathroom.
Great! We're late. Again.
The drive over to the Animal Kingdom is fraught with tension. It's like this everytime we go somewhere. You'd think we'd learn. If Scott could move a little faster and I could be a little more patient our life together would be so much more harmonious. But we can't. We're doomed.
Animal Kingdom is really hopping by the time we roll in. Either crowd patterns have changed or the DIS was having one over on me. Early January was not proving to be a slow time. Quite the contrary, the wait for the Safari was already 30 minutes. Time for a Fast Pass.
Scott just loves the nature trails. The Pangani Forest one is especially nice. It's a little cool out. The gorillas are feeling frisky and put on a show. We spend a lot of time poking around all of the exhibits. Scott's one of those people who gets the bird spotting guide and pays real close attention to all the CM's spiels about the gorillas/okapi (sp? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention)/hippos. I'm one of those people who stand off to the side and call home on their cell phone. I don't like aviaries either. I'm not exactly afraid of birds. It's just that I don't like standing underneath them. Especially right after they've had their breakfast.
Kilimanjaro Safaris. The stand-by line is huge. With our fast passes we're on in less than 5 minutes. A lot of the people in standby give us dirty looks as we walk past. Too bad. Why doesn't everyone just use fast pass? Even I, the girl who thinks that nature smells bad and may or may not poop on your head, prefer visiting Pangani Forest to standing REALLY CLOSE to strangers for almost an hour. That's just me, though. It may be that you enjoy pressing up against people you don't know. Disneyworld has something for everyone.
We get to sit in the front row of the jeep thing which is kind of neat. We see all the usual wildlife with the added bonus of catching one of the cheetahs actually running. Even I perk up for this one. I'd never seen the fastest animal on land do anything but sleep. Scott and the driver get very excited.
Our next stop is the Flights of Wonder show. This is pretty good. If you sit just to the right of center (as you face the stage) the birds will fly over your head. Scott thought this was neato. If you want to actually interact with one of the birds, sit near the center and have a dollar bill ready to wave at the host when she asks for one. For the truly daring, you can volunteer to sit on stage and have a HUGE owl with VERY SHARP CLAWS fly straight at you if you like. No thanks, I've seen The Birds. I can also see the headlines now.
Giant Owl Rips Woman's Scalp From Head. Husband fascinated by magnificant display of natural behavior
It's too chilly for Kali River Rapids. I am a human divining rod. I have never been on one of these things and not gotten absolutely soaked. With the temps still in the 60s I'm not taking any chances. We did make a short stop at the exit bridge, however, so that Scott could shoot the big water pistols. (Ladies, your husband/boyfriend probably is dying to do this. Let him. It will make his day however silly it may seem to you.)
Our last attraction is the Marahajah Jungle Trek. I love the ancient temple ruins theme. The tigers are pretty neat too. There's just one problem with this place: the flying rats. Rats are the one thing I hate worse than bugs. I grew up surrounded by sugar cane fields and every year at harvest our house was invaded by mice. Once, I woke up to find a mouse actually sitting on me. A MOUSE. SITTING. ON ME.
I have definate rodent issues. The only rat I want to get up close and personal with had better be wearing red pants. Scott grew up in a city and thinks the bat exhibit is way cool.I realize that today's report is a tad on the negative side. It's not Disney. It's me. I am not and probably never will be at one with the Animal Kingdom.
Lunchtime.
Due to this morning's fun and games we missed breakfast and are now starving. We have one Vacation Kingdom Lunch Voucher to use this trip. The last time we used one of these we ate at Le Cellier and it was wonderful. I'd read all about the Rainforest Cafe and how two could stuff themselves silly on one VKL voucher so we decided to give it a try. We didn't have PS and the wait was, oh, forever so we decided to sit in the bar. We had a quesedilla appetizer, the steak and lobster and a Bananas Foster-type dessert. Except for the dessert the food was only so-so. Sort of like a Chilli's. If I were to do this again I'd probably skip the lobster and add some sort of shrimp instead. The lobster tail was rubbery and the stuffing very bland. Le Cellier was much, much better.
Stuffed, if not satisfied, we waddled back toward the car. Remember the car? Of course not. We were too busy nursing individual resentments to notice anything as trivial as where we parked the car. It's another half hour before we're finally on our way to POFQ where we busy ourselves with an afternoon of beer and napping by the pool.
Jennifer
