My DSD came for a visit & didn't stay for our trip to WDW??? Update 1/13Kadani Villag

[jmskinner]

We survived the Safari and Vickie and her clan wanted to see FOTLK. It was about 45 minutes until the next show and since we were on that side of the park, why not. I decided to walk over and get FP's for EE and meet them at the show. I have done this before when my folks were with us, and I tell you, it is a workout. But no matter how large of a workout it is, I will snap pics along the way:

As I took this I thought about how everyone else will probably be upset they missed him. I had never seen him before.

And I just love Mt. Everest!

I made it back before the door was opened for the show.

Ok, even though Vickie speaks so well about my pics, and it is the camera not me, I'm still having issues with show shots, but here is what I got of FOTLK.

I took so many pics, I asked Robert if the sound of my camera was bothering him. When he said, no I continued on. Remember, I don't use the flash in attractions like this. I always worry about ruining others experience.

And here are a few after the lights were turned on:

What I haven't mentioned, is while taking pics, I was switching lenses and also using my other camera for video, so here is a little video:
[URL=http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/ll170/jmskinner1/?action=view&current=100_0670.flv][/URL]
(I can't believe this worked like that, I have been trying to get video to show like this and not just a link for months. Now, if I can just remember what it is I did.)

Vickie pointed this out to me as we left, now I can't remember what it is.

I can't remember what came next but I know it had to be something at AK.

 

[SimmerBaggins]

That was really funny about the CM driver turning off the radio! It kind of reminded me of the Jungle Cruise drivers, who have to say the same things over & over -- I bet it feels good to veer off the path and say or hear something different every now & then.

This is really good -- we are reminding each other of things that were really entertaining.

That picture you took on the bank of the river (over the bridge) is a stone dragon. It was one of the things that My Pal Mickey had told us about a couple of years ago when we were crossing the bridge into Camp Minnie & Mickey.

And thanks, JPFamilyMom -- the irony of the whole thing was so funny to me when I began looking at my own photos and comparing them to Melissa's...I was really feeling those comments!!

I'm beginning to wonder if I've somehow scared away Melissa's normal post-followers, though...it's gotten a lot quieter.

I will try to do my next installment of photos tomorrow...will work on that promised video (and to bump up this thread again) in a little while!

 

[Finkelstein's Hubby]

Hey Melissa and Simmer

Outstanding pics as always, special mention to you Melissa, I know how hard it is to get the Safari pics...every time we do it we get the driver who has secretly entered the Paris-Dakaar rally and is on the clock!....I love seeing your reports but it makes me feel bad as I am 1 year, 1 month away from our trip....hope you are still in Florida so you can see my moment of glory at the Indy Stunt show....the kids are in on it now and will be "helping" daddy get selected

All my Animal Kingdom pics of the gorilla's have one of em lying in the corner with a "please go away" look on his/her face......they are amazing creatures though and I love watching em for ages.

Gordon

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Okay, here is the quick video of us giggling in the back of the safari truck!

http://www.facebook.com/v/1111490390252" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi guys!

I love the TR so far - it's really fun how you're writing it between the two of you

JMSkinner.. that last photo you took in AK - is that of the stone dragon, that was where the 'Beastly Kingdom' was going to be, all the mythical rides? But the budget got cut for AK when they were building the park ... I believe they had been designing a Dragon rollercoaster - the designers might have taken their plans to another theme park in Orlando... just a rumour i heard once!

Looking forward to the next installment...

Emma x

 

[Finkelstein's Hubby]

That was one bumpy ride Simmer...brings back memories....painful, painful memories

Gordon

 

[jmskinner]

That was really funny about the CM driver turning off the radio! It kind of reminded me of the Jungle Cruise drivers, who have to say the same things over & over -- I bet it feels good to veer off the path and say or hear something different every now & then.

This is really good -- we are reminding each other of things that were really entertaining.

That picture you took on the bank of the river (over the bridge) is a stone dragon. It was one of the things that My Pal Mickey had told us about a couple of years ago when we were crossing the bridge into Camp Minnie & Mickey.

And thanks, JPFamilyMom -- the irony of the whole thing was so funny to me when I began looking at my own photos and comparing them to Melissa's...I was really feeling those comments!!

I'm beginning to wonder if I've somehow scared away Melissa's normal post-followers, though...it's gotten a lot quieter.

I will try to do my next installment of photos tomorrow...will work on that promised video (and to bump up this thread again) in a little while!

I don't think you have scared anyone away. Probably like me, don't get the email of any updates and then I go out and look and there have been several updates. Makes me nuts. All those threads I have posted on just to give my opinion, I get every single notice of a posting, but not on TR's it seems.

Hey Melissa and Simmer

Outstanding pics as always, special mention to you Melissa, I know how hard it is to get the Safari pics...every time we do it we get the driver who has secretly entered the Paris-Dakaar rally and is on the clock!....I love seeing your reports but it makes me feel bad as I am 1 year, 1 month away from our trip....hope you are still in Florida so you can see my moment of glory at the Indy Stunt show....the kids are in on it now and will be "helping" daddy get selected

All my Animal Kingdom pics of the gorilla's have one of em lying in the corner with a "please go away" look on his/her face......they are amazing creatures though and I love watching em for ages.

Gordon

Gordon, look at the bright side. You have a trip booked! I can remember a time when I didn't think I would ever make it back to WDW.

Yup, I've had that same bus driver that I guess it is almost break time for them or something and couldn't get any pics. Another reason I wanted the DSLR. Take multiple shots quickly and hope something comes out. My old Kodak the camera would snap, and then about 3 seconds later I could take another pic, but by then we were already on to another area.

Okay, here is the quick video of us giggling in the back of the safari truck!

http://www.facebook.com/v/1111490390252" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"

I HATE video where you can here me talking or laughing!

Hi guys!

I love the TR so far - it's really fun how you're writing it between the two of you

JMSkinner.. that last photo you took in AK - is that of the stone dragon, that was where the 'Beastly Kingdom' was going to be, all the mythical rides? But the budget got cut for AK when they were building the park ... I believe they had been designing a Dragon rollercoaster - the designers might have taken their plans to another theme park in Orlando... just a rumour i heard once!

Looking forward to the next installment...

Emma x

Emma princess, I didn't even think about that stone dragon being a prop for "Beastly Kingdom". I had heard about it, like how there is a "Unicorn" section in the parking lot. Hopefully one day they will go ahead with it because AK really does need to be expanded. It gets too crowded. And thanks for reading.

That was one bumpy ride Simmer...brings back memories....painful, painful memories

Gordon

Yup, lots of painful memories for us to. I can remember one time flying at least a foot off of my seat. I was worried about the older couple behind us.

Ok, I'm going to wait on Vickie to update and go to my other TR and work on it some more.

 

[carissanboys]

All caught up!

The Ball Factory reminds me of a very similar thing at Dream World in Australia.

POR - ahhhhhhhh.

How cool that you guys got to see Harry Potter at DTD.

Loved all of your animal pictures Melissa. Awesome!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

The one thing that’s nice is that I don’t have to repeat anything Melissa’s already said…

We bought some popcorn prior to the show, and I was pleased that the kids shared it. Some Coke, water and our backs against the wall up on the top bleachers (Melissa’s idea – it was great), and we were g-t-g.

We ended up in the Elephant’s section (every section of the auditorium represents an animal). You had to learn how to imitate the sound and action of your animal to one of the show’s CMs…I thought the sound for Pumba the warthog would be different than a snort.

I am enamored with Simba in this show – but I really like how all of them react to the actors and move around. I took multiple pics of Simba.

Here’s the ending to Just Can’t wait to be King, and you’ll see Simba moving around.

http://www.facebook.com/v/1111873199822" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"

Now, after the show in 2007, we went up to Simba and talked to him while people were filing out of the theater, and he reacted to us. This time, we tried to do the same thing, and it was obvious that he/the operator wasn’t paying us any attention. It was disappointing. I have a video of Jordan jumping up & down trying to get his attention, but I won’t post it. Here are the close-up pics.

Okay, have to go to church & sing in the choir. Will do more, later!!

Simmer

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Oh, wow -- I just tried your video, Melissa -- that is great! Did you load it into Dis Boards, or somewhere else and point to it?

And DisneyBarbie -- that was great information about the stone dragon and the history...My Pal Mickey didn't really elaborate like that!

 

[jmskinner]

All caught up!

The Ball Factory reminds me of a very similar thing at Dream World in Australia.

POR - ahhhhhhhh.

How cool that you guys got to see Harry Potter at DTD.

Loved all of your animal pictures Melissa. Awesome!

Thanks Carissa. I thought you might like the POR pics, didn't get as many pics as you did and I really planned on taking time to do so.

Oh, wow -- I just tried your video, Melissa -- that is great! Did you load it into Dis Boards, or somewhere else and point to it?

And DisneyBarbie -- that was great information about the stone dragon and the history...My Pal Mickey didn't really elaborate like that!

Actually, I use Photobucket for the videos and any random pics I don't move to my Smugmug account. Photobucket is free, but you are limited on the space, plus ads popping up a lot lately.

As for your update Vickie, you got some great pics and actually, it was Robert that mentioned the back of the bleachers. I'll keep that in mind. Jacob wants to be in the Lion section since he roars so well. Done it since he was a baby.

Ok, I'll do another update in the morning. Working on cleaning out our external hard drive that is now full.

 

[SimmerBaggins]

You guys -- my daughter came up with this picture, and I just had to post it for you all to see!

The next time you see the monorail...

...you might think of this picture!

 

[jmskinner]

Be sure to tell Jordan I love it!

 

[jmskinner]

After FOTLK we still had a little time before using our FP's for EE, but we decided to head that way. We stopped to let the kids play on the drums:

I am guessing this is there somewhere by the drums:

We saw Flicker and decided to get our pic with him, but first he wanted some of Jordan's popcorn:

This is one of those instances where I should let the camera decide whether or not to use the flash, but I was able to correct it:

We decided to grab some lunch and stopped at the Yak & Yeti counterservice place. I believe I stopped at another little booth on the way and got Jacob some chicken nuggets, or did I dream that?

We had a nice meal and were on our way. Some ducks were also trying to enjoy a meal, a momma and her babies were wandering through the tables:

We headed to one of the trails and for some reason I don't have that many pics. Probably too busy talking knowing me, but here are a few:

I love the dragons, but having a Nile Monitor in my backyard a couple weeks ago, I'm a little creeped out looking at this pic.

I remember trying to get a pic of the tigers, but they were hiding out and the one window you could see them, this one family stood there long enough that I gave up.

Can you believe Jacob stopped to play in the water?

Next up:

Would we survive?

 

[Zeebs]

We stopped to bang the drums as well. You can't beat a good drum.... hee hee.

Kirsten

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Yep, so here’s my pics of the drums:

And the amazing tree – have you ever stopped to wonder how many pictures of this tree people have taken, from various angles & such?

Here we are, walking the trail (my turn-around trick) – body language says, “it’s hot.”

One of those humongous bi-colored pigs, doing the smart thing and staying cool:

My bad bat pic. When I don’t use the flash, things are blurry.

This picture I took in lieu of the tiger that people were hogging. Impressive, but not as much when you want to see the tiger.

Here is the crouching tiger, hidden tiger-plant. Seriously, if you can make out a tiger here, you are ‘way good.

This is one of my favorite pictures…these flags are just exotic.

Fuzzy duck. I gave him the fuzz.

Blurry bird. Jacob was really impressed with this bird’s coloring, and really wanted us to see him. I was impressed with Jacob’s enthusiasm for it!

And here is a clip of the kiddos meeting Flick. I didn’t get all his cool moves, but he was a real, ahem, character.

http://www.facebook.com/v/1113133911339" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi girls!!

Really enjoyed all the updates and the photos and videos. Bringing back so many good memories! Still, only 397 days to go.....

I didn't know that about the 'Beastly Kingdom' part of AK - that would be really cool if they were to expand it.

Di x

 

[jmskinner]

We stopped to bang the drums as well. You can't beat a good drum.... hee hee.

Kirsten

Hi girls!!

Really enjoyed all the updates and the photos and videos. Bringing back so many good memories! Still, only 397 days to go.....

I didn't know that about the 'Beastly Kingdom' part of AK - that would be really cool if they were to expand it.

Di x

Di, your trip will come around before you know it. Beastly Kingdom was originally planned, but due to budgets, it was dropped. Sure hope they add that area, it could be really cool.

Now Vickie, great update. That blurriness is another reason I love my camera, but need to figure out exactly how to set it so I can get those shots without the flash. Do I use AV, TV, or M? How many seconds on the shutter....it goes on and on. I am currently reading some books that will hopefully help me. Hoping to get some great shots this weekend during the "Boo to you parade!" Ok, back to the TR!

 

[jmskinner]

We made our way over to:

Jacob didn't want to ride, not unusual. So once we got to the front of the line I informed the CM how many we had and one chickening out. She showed Jacob where to wait, which he had done before. He had his DS so he was happy.

On we went, Me in front of Vickie and Jordan, and then Robert and Emily.
I think Jordan was confused that I kept snapping pics of them:

And this is Vickie freaking out Emily, "The track is all torn up, what are we going to do!?!?!"

And the only shot of the Yeti I could get:

Even though I have been on EE many times, I still get a little nervous staring the Yeti down at the end, but I hope to one day get a pic of him.

We survived EE:

Hey, there was a guy next to me. Now I remember, he recommended getting in the single rider line because there was no wait. And notice how Robert has that Video Camera out. Wait, where did Emily go? Did the Yeti get her?

From here we headed over to Primevil Whirl. Can't remember if Vickie and her clan had been on this before, but since there were 6 of us, Jacob and I rode in one car and Vickie and the clan in the car behind us. Perfect chance for me to try to document their ride(sorry pics are a little dark):

After PW, we found the Boneyard. Robert, I think Jordan, and I went to get a drink while Vickie and the kids went on in. I decided to grab me a frozen strawberry treat and then had to wait outside the Boneyard to finish it. Robert was nice and waited for me and then we found Vickie and the kids:

We were wanting to see the Nemo show, but had some time before the next show and saw ITTBAB! I can't really remember, but I guess there wasn't much of a line because I didn't take any pics of the Tree of Life, but here are some of the posters inside:

Would we make it back in time for Nemo?

 

[Finkelstein's Hubby]

Evening

Ben and Heather love Primeval Whirl but its the only ride I have come off in pain from, not enough to stop me going on again but its a real bone-shaker though maybe the rehab fixed that. AK is one of those parks that no matter where you point and shoot you will get something interesting and I hope to be in it at night when it is dark as I have heard the Tree of Life looks spectacular when lit up.

Gordon