Nyami Nyami, Yummy Yummy: A Trip to AKL (with pictures!)

[BeautyNBeast]

Wating patiently for more. I am loving your tr.

 

[mousiemom]

MushyMushy-This is my question. How in the world do you have 6,000 posts and you joined the disboard July of this yr??????

 

[MushyMushy]

I'm prolific!

 

[MushyMushy]

Our day started out on the wrong foot. Rhiannon, my little ray of sunshine, didn’t get enough sleep, so she woke up extremely whiney. We grabbed some cereal bars to eat and moseyed down to the bus stop to try to make sure we got to the park around 8:30. I like to be as close to the turnstiles as possible for park opening. Luck was on our side – the bus was right there waiting at the stop, so we ended up getting at AK at 8 a.m. on the dot.

On the bus ride there, this Hispanic brother and sister were fighting the whole trip. Apparently, the sister disrespected his macho-ness, or his machismo or something to that effect and he was highly offended. She kept yelling at him to get over it, and they just kept going on and on, rehashing the scenario the entire time. Dennis and I tried so hard not to eavesdrop, but come on! Not easy to do when we were the only people on the bus. As soon as the bus pulled into the Animal Kingdom, they kissed & made up – both hugging each other and apologizing profusely, but then continued the fight, even as they were making up. It was so funny, but we couldn’t wait to get away from them.

We got to the park early & got to the front of a turnstile, but then a few CM’s closed several turnstiles. This one couple got really upset because they were the very first people there – the CM’s made them go to the back of a line. We were still all very close to the front, so it wasn’t such a big deal to us – just a little annoying.

As soon as they let us in, Dennis took off to Expedition Everest for fast passes, while the girls & I went to Primeval Whirl. PW took forever, but they had such a blast.

Dennis came back & we went off to Dinosaur, which is one of my very favorite rides for some odd reason. Rhiannon hates the loudness of it, so I’d bought her some earplugs, and they wouldn’t work so she got all upset and hated the ride. She continued whining & decided she wouldn’t ride EE. GRRRR! Bad mommy moment alert! I didn’t exactly do the “We paid good money for this trip, so you must ride,” but I did lay a bit of a guilt trip on her. It just really bothered me because I knew she’d love the ride, but just had it in her head that it was going to be like Rock n Roller Coaster and there was no convincing her otherwise. Then we just wandered around aimlessly, got some FP to Kali, then went to eat at Flame Tree.

Because we were the first ones there, the girls got to “open” Flame tree. They had to clap their hands and yell to the cooks, and yell to the cashiers – it was actually really cute. They got magical moment certificates for it.

We went back and ate by the water, and it was such a nice experience! For a long time we were all alone in that little pavilion and this bird – a great white heron -- kept stalking us. It was relentless, but I didn’t mind because I love birds. He started out about 10 feet away, then when we weren’t looking would slowly edge his way closer and closer until he was less than a foot from my chair.

Dennis tried to chase him away gently, but it wouldn’t go. We didn’t want to scare it, but as you can see, he’s got a pretty wicked-looking beak and after being bit by a little cockatiel, I knew that those beaks mean business! It wasn’t too long before this family with small children came along and the kids chased the bird away, which really ticked me off. What is it with kids wanting to chase animals, anyway? We ended up seeing this all the time. There would be squirrels, ducks, or any other manner of wildlife, and there’d always be some kid to come along and chase them away. Oh well, we enjoyed it while we could.

After lunch, Sunshine & I went to find a bathroom & to ride EE while Dennis & Rhiannon went to put the magical moments certificates in a locker. We ended up gong to the bathroom & skipping EE because we got a little lost, and at that point, it was just getting so hot. I don’t know why it is, but Animal Kingdom seems to get so much hotter and crowded than the other parks. We met up with Dennis & Rhiannon at Kali. We had a blast & got soaked, but I have to confess that I don’t like Kali any better than the Raging Rapids at Kennywood. In fact, Raging Rapids might be a bit better, but please don’t tell Mickey.

After that, we all decided we’d had enough of the park & headed back to the resort for some quality pool time. I had to chuckle, because Dennis handed 4 fast passes to someone for Safari & he looked at them suspiciously, like we were trying to get him to buy drugs.

Next up: Nyami Nyami (I promise) and Fantasmic

 

[MushyMushy]

Hey! Loving the report so far! Glad I didn't read about the could-have-been-cat-pee before our trip! We loved AKL but didn't make it to the pool a single time. In fact, in 3 trips we have never made it to ANY pool! Perhaps I need a pool ADR next time. I seem to do well making it to everything that has to actually be scheduled!

Next installment soon, please!

I'm telling you what -- you need to get yourself to a pool! Sit by the lounge, grab a drink and relax for a few hours. Mmmmmmm, there's nothing better.

 

[lookingforward]

I am enjoying your trip reports. Lookingforward to more!

 

[mask_w03]

You have me hooked and can't wait to read more!!

 

[MushyMushy]

Day 2, Continued

After leaving AK, we went back to the resort to hang out and relax at the pool. I went to Uzima Springs for a pina colada, and saw something called a Nyami Nyami (pronounced nommy nommy). The Nyami Nyami has amarula (an African crème liqueur), crème de banana, and vanilla ice cream. I got that for Dennis because he loved Amarula so much from our last trip, but when I took a sip of it, I thought it was over-the-top YUMMY! I’m a big fan of sweet, creamy, blended drinks. The pina colada was delish too, but after that, it was Nyami Nyami all the way. So, how disappointed are you that Nyami Nyami is a drink and not something big?

On our previous trip, I always thought Dennis was nuts for wanting to use the hot tub. I mean, geez! It’s Florida, for crying out loud – 150% humidity and a zillion degrees out. Who wants to use a hot tub in those conditions???? My ankle was bothering me a bit, so I decided to give it a try and couldn’t believe how good it felt. I held my feet up to the jets and they were totally refreshed, and then when I got out of the tub, the air actually felt so much cooler. I’m a hot tub convert!

Between the hot tub and the pina colada, my bones turned to mush, so I went back to the room to rest while Dennis & the girls swam. When they got back from the pool, Rhiannon had sniffles & a cough, plus a sunburn on her cheeks. The way that girl swallows, snorts, and chokes on that chlorine water, it’s no wonder she was hacking the way she was!

We left for the bus stop to go to MGM for our Mama Melrose Fantasmic package & there was a bus sitting at the end where AK buses sit, but this one was labeled for MGM. Dennis ran to catch it & the driver agreed to wait for us. The girls hopped on ahead of me, while I lagged behind, and then the bus driver slammed the door in my face! I banged on the door while everyone on the bus laughed at me. I was standing there half laughing and half embarrassed because I HATE to have any attention drawn to myself. She finally let me on the bus & she told me Dennis told her to do it, so I hammed it up and berated him in front of everyone and acted like he wasn’t going to get “any” for the rest of the trip (wink wink). She chattered & entertained us, made a stop at Blizzard Beach, then on to MGM.

We arrived at the entrance to MGM just as thousands upon thousands of people were lined up for the Stars & Motorcars parade. Yikes! We hoofed it down the boulevard, trying to beat the parade. Mama Melrose is towards the back of the park near Star Tours and Muppet Vision 3D, so we had quite a walk ahead of us. Somehow we managed to battle our way through the crowds and get to the restaurant before the parade started.

The hostess was more than happy to take us early, and we had about a 5 minute wait before we were seated. The restaurant wasn't overly crowded, and the atmosphere was cool with dark wood and a comfortable décor.

One thing that was really working well with us so far with the girls was the child's credits and adult's credits on the dining plan. Rhiannon, being 10 was considered an adult, while Sunshine at 9 was considered a child. Typically, though, Rhiannon ordered off the child's menu while Sunshine wanted food from the adult menu. Nobody had a problem with that when we asked, and in the cases where both girls wanted a child's meal, the server recommended we pay out of pocket for them to save their credits for a signature meal. We actually did that twice for our upcoming California Grill meal. I'll get into that later, but Rhiannon and I ended up missing a meal, so we had a few extra credits saved up.

On to the meal! We started out with the field green salad, which had a balsamic vinaigrette and crumpled gorgonzola cheese. Unsurprisingly, neither girl touched the salad, but Dennis and I liked it a lot, with the exception of the cheese for me. I'm just not ready for stinky cheese! (stolen from an episode of Yes, Dear).

For the starter, we got the grilled pepperoni pizza. The pepperoni tasted smokey and very good, and was cut rather thick. The pizza was great -- a bit too spicy for the girls, but Dennis and I liked it a lot, especially with the onions and peppers.

For entrees, the girls got spaghetti -- Rhiannon got buttered spaghetti, and Sunshine got hers with a red sauce. This is where we discovered Sunshine's love of spaghetti. Let me tell you, Sunshine weighs about 85 pounds soaking wet, and she's just a skinny little thing, but we found out that night that SHE CAN EAT! She ate her entire plate of spaghetti and practically licked the plate clean.

Dennis got the spicy Italian sausage, and he said it just wasn't flavorful enough for him, but I tried it and thought it was fine. He and I just don't quite agree on what's spicy.

I got the penne alla vodka, and I thought it was fantastic. The pasta could have stood to have more sauce, but I ate almost the whole dish! The pancetta and onion were sliced really small, but they added a good bit of flavor to the dish. This is something I'd love to try to make at home, but only for a special treat -- it's made with real cream. Mmmmmm.

For dessert, the girls got vanilla gelato and Dennis and I got the tiramisu. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't get the tiramisu again. The mascarpone cheese was light and fluffy -- very delicious, but the lady fingers were too dry.

As soon as we left Mama’s, it started thundering. WAH! It can’t rain on the day we’re schedule to see Fantasmic! But no, it wasn’t rain, it was a blizzard!

Okay, not really. We just found a really cool snowman outside of It’s a Wonderful World shop.

Next, we headed to Muppet Vision & while we were inside, it started a downpour. Fortunately, it slowed down by the time we got done, then we went to Writer’s Stop. I can’t pass up a bookstore, no matter where we may be. The world comes to a grinding halt.

Must.
Buy.
Books.

Oh, and it was the weirdest thing in there. Rhiannon and I were browsing the books and this girl was staring at us. She was in her late teens/early 20s, and I honestly thought maybe my blouse was unbuttoned or something because her eyes followed us everywhere we stepped in the store. I tried to ignore it, but her eyes were burning holes in me, so I finally stared back at her pointedly, and she stopped. I have no idea what that was all about.

After that, we did Star Tours, which was cheesy, but the girls loved. And here’s something I wondered about. There were these Middle Eastern men & a woman with kids – the men got on the ride from another line (or the exit maybe? I don't know, but they were all alone at the exit.) and they were waiting on the ride, and the woman & kids waiting in the regular line and sat with them, but they all got on separately. I wondered why, but I do have my thoughts on this based on some things I’ve seen at the university with Middle Eastern men and their families.

Up next: Fantasmic, briefly.