larry's girl
Dead last finish is better than did not finish, wh
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2003
- Messages
- 675
Players:
Susan, 39 - trip report writer, lover of all things Disney
Larry, 46 - DH, converted Disney fanatic, can't get enough Disney trips
Tara, 16 - DD, ready to go to Disney for any reason (or no reason)
Dad, 69 - DF, first Disney trip in about 12 or so years, ready to do pretty much everything except the coasters
Mom, 61 - DM, same Disney background as Dad, ready to do anything that doesn't mess up her hair
Sister, 25 - DS, last went to Disney when she was in middle school, is ready to have some fun
Brother-in-Law, 28 - DBIL, hasn't been to Disney in years, very into thrill rides
Brother, 22 - DB, went to Disney about 5 years ago, but ready to see the new stuff added since then, also very into thrill rides
Today we caught the bus for Animal Kingdom. Since it was a cold morning, we opted to see It's Tough To Be a Bug first, which I think everyone liked. When we came out of the show, we went over to Dinoland and rode Primeval Whirl. It was so dead the CM's asked if we would like to ride again, and since we said yes, they let us go again without even getting off! Off season is a way cool time to go to Disney!!! We walked over to the Dinosaur ride, but were met by CM's saying that it was down and they didn't know how long it would be until we could ride. We stopped at a little snack stand near the ride and had pastries and hot chocolate so we could talk about what to do next. This took about 15 minutes, and when we were done, we decided to check Dinosaur one more time before leaving the area. Sure enough, it was open with no wait and we hopped right on! This is an awesome ride and DBIL in particular loved the special effects. We then started towards the Tarzan Rocks show, but were told on the way there that the first show had been canceled because it was too cold! I guess Tarzan was afraid he would freeze to death swinging on a vine in the frigid air. Anyway, we moved on to Asia and walked the Maharahja Jungle Trail. The tigers were active, but the bats were not out at all - I guess it was too cold for them, too! We then took in the Flights of Wonder show, which we all thought was a great show. My DBIL took lots of pictures of the birds, especially the more colorful ones.
By now it was time for lunch, so we headed to Africa and had lunch at Tusker House. Larry and I bought drinks at the Dawa bar before heading inside the restaurant for lunch. I had a strawberry daiquiri (which I thought was super good) and he had one of their specialty drinks, although for the life of me I can't remember what it was. When we ordered them, I asked the bartender if he needed to see my I.D. He shook his head and said he thought I was probably just shy of 30. Since it was a r-e-a-l-l-y long time ago that I was even close to 30, I was ridiculously pleased with this response (even though I know he was shooting bull - but a girl can dream, right?) - I told him that I KNEW there was a reason I loved coming to Disney World so much and he laughed. Larry and I each had the fried chicken sandwich for lunch, which was excellent (and was a very large portion). My mom had a salad there that she liked very much, and Tara had the turkey wrap with corn chowder which she said was very good, but I'm fuzzy on what others ordered (I guess that daiquiri was already kicking in at that point). After lunch, we did the Kilimanjaro Safari. This was a walk on at this time of day and it was truly the best safari we have ever been on. The animals were so close at some times we could have touched them, and it seemed that since it had warmed up a bit they were very active. I was really happy that there were so many for my family to see, as most of them had not ever been to Animal Kingdom before.
After the safari, we rested for a while and listened to the drummers that were performing. Larry was not feeling well, so he went back to the villa to rest. Tara browsed in the gift shop across from Tusker House and bought a couple of things. We were about to leave the area when the acrobats came out that perform next to the Dawa Bar. We rushed over to see them and I am so glad we did! They are the ones who do, among other things, the limbo - there is one performer who goes so low you wouldn't believe it could be done unless you saw it with your own eyes! After their performance, we went across the bridge to Camp Minnie-Mickey to see the Lion King show. We got ice cream and some of us got pictures with the characters while we waited for the next show. Everyone seemed to enjoy this performance - my favorites are the tumble monkeys!
By now, we were all ready for a break, so we went back to our villa. My sister took care of dinner tonight, and she laid out sandwich meats, cheese, pickles, etc. for hoagie sandwiches, along with potato chips. This was a quick and easy dinner which was really delicious. Larry and I had scheduled a surprise for everyone tonight, and it was soon time to leave for it! We drove over to the Boardwalk and valet parked our cars, then took the boat to the Y&B dock to catch our Illuminations cruise boat! We ran into one snag - I had ordered food and drinks for our cruise from Y&B private dining beforehand. I gave them my debit card number to guarantee that we would have the items I ordered, but wanted to pay for them with cash when I paid for the cruise. I was told that was no problem and that my debit card would not be charged, but when we got to the dock, they had in fact charged my card - so now I had a problem. I didn't leave money in my account to cover those charges (because I had the cash in my hand), so we had to call Y&B private dining and ask that they refund the charges (which they did) and let us pay in cash. It all came out okay, but I am still dealing with problems with my bank because of this mix-up. Lesson learned - I won't be using Y&B private dining for food on any future Illuminations cruises. We will wait and eat after we're done next time! However, everything was as I had ordered it and this was a really special surprise for my family, so it was worth the hassle. They were blown away by the Illuminations show and have remarked many times since how much they enjoyed the whole experience. Again, it was cold, but we were bundled up and there were blankets on the boat for us to cuddle up under, so that helped a lot! Another perfect end to our day.
Susan, 39 - trip report writer, lover of all things Disney
Larry, 46 - DH, converted Disney fanatic, can't get enough Disney trips
Tara, 16 - DD, ready to go to Disney for any reason (or no reason)
Dad, 69 - DF, first Disney trip in about 12 or so years, ready to do pretty much everything except the coasters
Mom, 61 - DM, same Disney background as Dad, ready to do anything that doesn't mess up her hair
Sister, 25 - DS, last went to Disney when she was in middle school, is ready to have some fun
Brother-in-Law, 28 - DBIL, hasn't been to Disney in years, very into thrill rides
Brother, 22 - DB, went to Disney about 5 years ago, but ready to see the new stuff added since then, also very into thrill rides
Today we caught the bus for Animal Kingdom. Since it was a cold morning, we opted to see It's Tough To Be a Bug first, which I think everyone liked. When we came out of the show, we went over to Dinoland and rode Primeval Whirl. It was so dead the CM's asked if we would like to ride again, and since we said yes, they let us go again without even getting off! Off season is a way cool time to go to Disney!!! We walked over to the Dinosaur ride, but were met by CM's saying that it was down and they didn't know how long it would be until we could ride. We stopped at a little snack stand near the ride and had pastries and hot chocolate so we could talk about what to do next. This took about 15 minutes, and when we were done, we decided to check Dinosaur one more time before leaving the area. Sure enough, it was open with no wait and we hopped right on! This is an awesome ride and DBIL in particular loved the special effects. We then started towards the Tarzan Rocks show, but were told on the way there that the first show had been canceled because it was too cold! I guess Tarzan was afraid he would freeze to death swinging on a vine in the frigid air. Anyway, we moved on to Asia and walked the Maharahja Jungle Trail. The tigers were active, but the bats were not out at all - I guess it was too cold for them, too! We then took in the Flights of Wonder show, which we all thought was a great show. My DBIL took lots of pictures of the birds, especially the more colorful ones.
By now it was time for lunch, so we headed to Africa and had lunch at Tusker House. Larry and I bought drinks at the Dawa bar before heading inside the restaurant for lunch. I had a strawberry daiquiri (which I thought was super good) and he had one of their specialty drinks, although for the life of me I can't remember what it was. When we ordered them, I asked the bartender if he needed to see my I.D. He shook his head and said he thought I was probably just shy of 30. Since it was a r-e-a-l-l-y long time ago that I was even close to 30, I was ridiculously pleased with this response (even though I know he was shooting bull - but a girl can dream, right?) - I told him that I KNEW there was a reason I loved coming to Disney World so much and he laughed. Larry and I each had the fried chicken sandwich for lunch, which was excellent (and was a very large portion). My mom had a salad there that she liked very much, and Tara had the turkey wrap with corn chowder which she said was very good, but I'm fuzzy on what others ordered (I guess that daiquiri was already kicking in at that point). After lunch, we did the Kilimanjaro Safari. This was a walk on at this time of day and it was truly the best safari we have ever been on. The animals were so close at some times we could have touched them, and it seemed that since it had warmed up a bit they were very active. I was really happy that there were so many for my family to see, as most of them had not ever been to Animal Kingdom before.
After the safari, we rested for a while and listened to the drummers that were performing. Larry was not feeling well, so he went back to the villa to rest. Tara browsed in the gift shop across from Tusker House and bought a couple of things. We were about to leave the area when the acrobats came out that perform next to the Dawa Bar. We rushed over to see them and I am so glad we did! They are the ones who do, among other things, the limbo - there is one performer who goes so low you wouldn't believe it could be done unless you saw it with your own eyes! After their performance, we went across the bridge to Camp Minnie-Mickey to see the Lion King show. We got ice cream and some of us got pictures with the characters while we waited for the next show. Everyone seemed to enjoy this performance - my favorites are the tumble monkeys!
By now, we were all ready for a break, so we went back to our villa. My sister took care of dinner tonight, and she laid out sandwich meats, cheese, pickles, etc. for hoagie sandwiches, along with potato chips. This was a quick and easy dinner which was really delicious. Larry and I had scheduled a surprise for everyone tonight, and it was soon time to leave for it! We drove over to the Boardwalk and valet parked our cars, then took the boat to the Y&B dock to catch our Illuminations cruise boat! We ran into one snag - I had ordered food and drinks for our cruise from Y&B private dining beforehand. I gave them my debit card number to guarantee that we would have the items I ordered, but wanted to pay for them with cash when I paid for the cruise. I was told that was no problem and that my debit card would not be charged, but when we got to the dock, they had in fact charged my card - so now I had a problem. I didn't leave money in my account to cover those charges (because I had the cash in my hand), so we had to call Y&B private dining and ask that they refund the charges (which they did) and let us pay in cash. It all came out okay, but I am still dealing with problems with my bank because of this mix-up. Lesson learned - I won't be using Y&B private dining for food on any future Illuminations cruises. We will wait and eat after we're done next time! However, everything was as I had ordered it and this was a really special surprise for my family, so it was worth the hassle. They were blown away by the Illuminations show and have remarked many times since how much they enjoyed the whole experience. Again, it was cold, but we were bundled up and there were blankets on the boat for us to cuddle up under, so that helped a lot! Another perfect end to our day.
