Day 4:Tuesday June 8th, 2010: Animal Kingdom!!
We were up bright and early this day because we were so excited to get started-DH's anniversary gift was a-comin! I had booked us the Wildlife Discovery Excursion (ending in December 2010 now!
) for 10:00 am! We had a Club Lounge breakfast of bagel, yogurt, and fruit. I had fallen in love with the Latte machine-Soooo good!!
Well we were on the bus by 8:15 am and on our way to AK. First a stop at GF to pick up some lovely folks, then a quick stop at BB to drop off, then AK here we come!! When we got to the turnstyles we were about 15 minutes from opening. Soon thereafter they actually started letting people in, but right away we realized there was something wrong. We were stuck in a lane with a broken machine. It wasn't reading people's tickets and all these other lines were moving in and we were just standing there! OMG it was so frustrating!!! We both tried to stay calm and not get upset, but it just felt like forever even though it was only a matter of about 12 minutes. We were let in about five after 9:00 and headed right for EE.
We got to EE and virtually walked on! We love that ride, it's so much fun. Just pure laughs and fun!! We grabbed a FP, and it was for 11:15. Then we decided to do single rider and walked right up, and got lucky on the same car! AND I was able to spot one of the hardest Hidden Mickey's on property, in the melted snow as you head up the mountain at the beginning of the ride!! Stoked!! After that it was time to race over to Africa to begin our Safari tour!
When we got to Africa, let me tell you, it was HOT. Holy hotness!! We bought a mister which was AWESOME! We love it and will bring it back on every trip. We were supposed to meet up with our group outside the Harambe Market, at 9:45 am. We were the first ones there, and were able to chat with our tours bus driver Sue, for a bit. She had been with the park since it opened and was great to talk to! Soon enough we were all rounded up, and walked BACKSTAGE (COOOOL!!!!!) to get on our private tour bus and head out onto Kilamanjaro Safari through our own entrance route. We were able to see a lot of really cool backstage areas. We saw where the hippos live and bathe, where all the laundry is done, where some of the vet services are....Super cool. They were also filming something with a little girl and what looked like Safari guides, but we couldn't figure out what it was. The tour bus basically turns onto the Safari route in between ride vehicles-pretty cool. And we were off on our safari!
Laura was our tour guide, and was so awesome. She was a veterinarian and had been with the Park for only 2 years. She specializes in the giraffes, and told us a lot about them. She also showed us real giraffe pellets!! EW!! But they were preserved and fully laquered so it really wasn't too gross, just cool to see what giraffe poop looks like lol. We also got to see a splintered piece of a Hippo tooth and it was so cool! HUGE! As we went along the safari, we would pull over in most of animal exhibits and just sit there for 5-10 minutes and examining the animals. Some giraffes even came over to our bus and were curious about us! They were so freaking cute. One thing I will say, is that with every ride vehicle that passed, the people on the ride were more interested in US and who we were than the animals!! They were staring at our van instead of watching the animals, it was really funny. Here are some great pics!
The last pic is of a BABY RHINO!!! OMG!! Cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. He was like a toy! So flippin cute!!! After our tour we were given FP for Kilamanjaro Safari which was cool. Laura took our picture for us as well
Then we raced back to EE to use our FP before it was time for our lunch at Yak and Yeti. EE was fun as ever, we even found a Hidden Mickey or two on the queue! I also was able to spot a Hidden Mickey that Mike COULD NOT FIND for the life of him, even standing in front of it with me pointing at it he was unable to see it until I went over and literally touched it. So cool!
On the queue:
Outside the bathroom area, I found this one!!
Then it was time for a well needed airconditioned lunch. And a cocktail for meeee!! I ordered a Patron margarita on the rocks with salt, and Mike ordered one as well. Unfortunately, the combo of super hot heat and a couple of sips of Patron sent Mike to sickville. He was NOT feeling well. I think it was heat exhaustion and partly dehydration, but he was nauseated and not even able to enjoy his lunch. So sad poor guy
I, on the other hand LOVED my lunch. I had a crispy Mahi Mahi with real sweet and sour sauce and it was soooo good. Omg. I can't get over it! For anyone who read my Dining Report I know you've seen this pic, but here it is again. YUM!
Before we left I realized my drink had made a hidden mickey on my napkin!
Mike was still not feeling well at all. We decided to stop and take a PP pic, and waited patiently as the photographer was busy with a family. All of a sudden this girl comes up and basically stands there closer to the photographer likes she's going to try to cut us! Really?!?! She was with her husband who was NOT trying to cut and was looking at her like "are you really doing this". I was not going to let her cut us, and the photographer wasn't either! He had seen us waiting there patiently and when he was finished he ignored her even though she was right next to him, and took us! It was great! She sat there with a sour puss on her face, but oh well! Beast!
In order to try and take Mike's mind off how he was feeling, we decided to go on a dedicated Mickey hunt. We were able to find a few really cool ones, and before long, Mike was feeling a bit better. We decided to hit the road around 2 pm, but before we left I told him I wanted to run over to KS and try to give away our FP for the ride. Yay for Disney Magic, and I was able to find a really cute young Irish couple to give them to. They didn't know about FP, and were walking away from the Safari because of the line. They were psyched when I explained that they could walk up right then and do FP!!
Here's my favorite Hidden Mickey of AK-there are a few of them scattered throughout the park, look for them next time!
By now we were pooped! We hopped on a bus and headed back to WL, not knowing what we were going to do next!
. I am lovin' your trip report 
. Can't wait for more 
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Crazy! So FP in hand, off we went to ToT , one of my FAVES! We were excited because of the newly added special effects for Summer Nightastic. We got there and the sign said 30 mins for standby, and we hopped on line. It actually only ended up taking about 15 minutes or so, and we had a great ride! The effect is cool, they take a picture of the car full of people and then show it on the screen as the elevator doors open on the first stop (I believe). Then we hopped right back on the standby line and waited less than 10 minutes to ride. After that it was past 10:00 am and the standby line was up to 40 minutes. We decided to head over to American Idol Experience.
