Show Me Your Smolder! October 2012 B-Day TR NEW 4/1 Trip Wrap Up & NEW PTR LINK!

That is so cool that you got to watch a vet procedure at Rafiki's! That's one thing I've been wanting to do but haven't had a chance yet because we usually spend only one day in AK and have to spend the morning with Safari and FotLK.
 
Great safari pics -- and the baby gorilla you saw later...too precious!

Most of my kids hate the dark room with rainforest sounds too ;)
 
I'm glad the weather from the hurricane didn't put a damper on things. It looks like a nice start to the day at AK. I didn't realize they still did the rope drop once you're inside the gates though. I assumed they did it like the other parks.

That was definitely a good safari if you saw the big cats out and about. We usually get a cheetah that is up there in the shadows somewhere... or so the driver says. :confused3 :lmao:

It looks like your family is a little bit more interested in Rafiki's Planet Watch than we are. We took the train out there last year, and didn't hang around too long. Just not that into it. :confused3
 
Cool morning so far. Good to see you finally made it out to Rafiki's. I fine the train ride one of the most annoying things in all of WDW, though riding by the "backstage" is sort of neat. However, I love seeing the vet procedures, and also I don't know if you got to catch any of the animal demos they do both inside and outside. Far from the greatest of DAK offerings, but a nice way to spend a little bit of time.

I may have mentioned this before, but there is usually a CM in Harambe before you enter the train queue that you can about the vet schedule in the AM and find out what they will be working on. The first time we ever went there back in 2000, they had a lion on the table!!! Nothing's been cooler than that!

Actually, now that I think about it, where ARE the kangaroos??

Going back to Characterpalooza, that only happens on non-Fantasmic days, right? We caught it once by accident before I knew about what it was, and it was quite amazing. We had Mary Poppins and the penguin, jasmine and Aladdin, Pinochio and Geppeto, Minnie, the Incredibles. We also stumbled across the evil queen in there once. Even when they don't do characterpalooza they can get some odd ones in. The fact you saw Max is pretty cool!
 

That is so cool that you got to watch a vet procedure at Rafiki's! That's one thing I've been wanting to do but haven't had a chance yet because we usually spend only one day in AK and have to spend the morning with Safari and FotLK.

I have read about it on the DIS a lot, but everyone suggested getting there early in the day to see something going on, so I didn't think we'd make it. Rafiki's is not exactly the place I'm running first thing in the morning at AK! So that was a pleasant surprise. :goodvibes

Great safari pics -- and the baby gorilla you saw later...too precious!

Most of my kids hate the dark room with rainforest sounds too ;)

That baby gorilla is so adorable! She spent a lot of the time hiding in the bushes before she finally came out and DH could get pictures of her.

I'm not gonna lie, the dark room made me a little nervous too! :rotfl:

I'm glad the weather from the hurricane didn't put a damper on things. It looks like a nice start to the day at AK. I didn't realize they still did the rope drop once you're inside the gates though. I assumed they did it like the other parks.

That was definitely a good safari if you saw the big cats out and about. We usually get a cheetah that is up there in the shadows somewhere... or so the driver says. :confused3 :lmao:

It looks like your family is a little bit more interested in Rafiki's Planet Watch than we are. We took the train out there last year, and didn't hang around too long. Just not that into it. :confused3

The opening procedure at AK is the worst of the 4 parks. It's the only one left where you have to stand behind an actual rope for 20 minutes waiting for the park to fully open. Seems pointless if you ask me. Just let me stand at the turnstile until 9 am, especially since there is no longer an opening show!

I always thought the cheetahs were fake because they were always laying waaaaaay out in the shadows where you could just barely make out a glimpse of their spots, so it was cool to see that they are actually REAL cheetahs!

Planet Watch was okay, especially for doing it the first time. Seeing the vet procedure helped. It's not something we will probably spend a lot of time at on future trips, but we will probably take the train out even just to see Rafiki. And maybe next year we will give the Affection Section a try, but I just always get a little skeeved out by Paxton petting those dirty farm animals! :lmao:
 
Cool morning so far. Good to see you finally made it out to Rafiki's. I fine the train ride one of the most annoying things in all of WDW, though riding by the "backstage" is sort of neat. However, I love seeing the vet procedures, and also I don't know if you got to catch any of the animal demos they do both inside and outside. Far from the greatest of DAK offerings, but a nice way to spend a little bit of time.

I may have mentioned this before, but there is usually a CM in Harambe before you enter the train queue that you can about the vet schedule in the AM and find out what they will be working on. The first time we ever went there back in 2000, they had a lion on the table!!! Nothing's been cooler than that!

Actually, now that I think about it, where ARE the kangaroos??

Going back to Characterpalooza, that only happens on non-Fantasmic days, right? We caught it once by accident before I knew about what it was, and it was quite amazing. We had Mary Poppins and the penguin, jasmine and Aladdin, Pinochio and Geppeto, Minnie, the Incredibles. We also stumbled across the evil queen in there once. Even when they don't do characterpalooza they can get some odd ones in. The fact you saw Max is pretty cool!

You must have been commenting as I was replying! :goodvibes

I don't remember seeing any animal demos, but I think next trip when Paxton is a little older he might be interested in seeing some. If you did mention that about the CM's, I probably forgot, so thanks for the reminder! That's a great way to know if it's worth it to head out for the vet procedures if that's all we want to do back there besides meet Rafiki! Seeing a lion or any of the big cats on the table would be amazing! How lucky you got to see that!

:rotfl: The kangaroos are in an area around the Tree of Life somewhere. I remember seeing them on our '09 trip!

I found this info on Characterpalooza times from kennythepirate.com

If the first Fantasmic begins before 7:30 pm, there will not be a Character Palooza.

If the first Fantasmic begins at 7:30 pm, there will be one 20 minute set from 4:45 to 5:05 pm

If the first Fantasmic begins at 8:00 pm, there will be three 20 minute sets at 4:50; 5:10 & 5:30pm

If the first Fantasmic begins at 8:30 pm, there will be two 30 minute sets at 4:50 & 5:20pm

If the first Fantasmic begins at 9:00 pm, there will be four 25 minute sets at 4:50; 5:15; 5:40 & 6:05 pm (two groups with two sets each)

When there is no Fantasmic, there will be four 30 minute sets at 4:50; 5:20; 5:50 & 6:20 pm. (two groups with two sets each)

So I guess the only time of year there is no Characterpalooza is when the parks are closing early and the first Fantasmic is earlier in the evening. So I think right now, there are none happening.

It was really cool to know it was happening and be ready for it, but I bet it is even better to just be hanging around the Animation building when all of a sudden all these characters come pouring out that you weren't expecting!
 
And maybe next year we will give the Affection Section a try, but I just always get a little skeeved out by Paxton petting those dirty farm animals! :lmao:
The animals are probably more sanitary than some of the hands that touch them. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:
 
Oh my goodness I am so behind!!!!
the beauty and the beast show is a wonderful show, but not when belle is a terrible singing!
I'm gonna wreck it photos are to precious :rotfl2:
"some chick" didn't know and screamed about the characters!!! haha I feel like that would be something I would do. It's like you hit the jackpot!
I would LOVE to color with a green army man
I love that feeling when you just breeze through the line with a fastpass
I'm glad to here that hurricane sandy didn't ruin the end of your trip
I have never encountered a vet procedure how cool!
what a cute character interaction with rafiki
 
You must have been commenting as I was replying! :goodvibes!

:lmao: Did it again!!!

I think it just means we are both on here too often!


So I guess the only time of year there is no Characterpalooza is when the parks are closing early and the first Fantasmic is earlier in the evening. So I think right now, there are none happening.

Hmmmm, another negative towards going in November, no Characterpalooza unless there is a night without Fantasmic! I also realized if we want to do the Disney YES program we would have to go in October. Decisions, Decisions!
 
I love the t-shirts you guys were wearing on your DHS day!

Oh, and all the mention of DS and hot dogs is really making me want one right now.

I've NEVER seen Chip in a Photopass photo before! That's adorable!

So cool that you saw the kangaroo! We saw a tiny rat, haha. We did find out that that morning, they had had a tiger in there! I can't believe we missed that.
 
So I read your entire PTR and started reading your TR when you started it (I always love your TRs I think I've read them all!) anyway, I tried to keep up on my phone but always fall behind and end up reading the same thing over and over again. Well I spent the last 2 days reading and am FINALLY caught up!!!
 
The animals are probably more sanitary than some of the hands that touch them. :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

:scared1::sick::scared::crazy2:

You're probably right!!!

Oh my goodness I am so behind!!!!
the beauty and the beast show is a wonderful show, but not when belle is a terrible singing!
I'm gonna wreck it photos are to precious :rotfl2:
"some chick" didn't know and screamed about the characters!!! haha I feel like that would be something I would do. It's like you hit the jackpot!
I would LOVE to color with a green army man
I love that feeling when you just breeze through the line with a fastpass
I'm glad to here that hurricane sandy didn't ruin the end of your trip
I have never encountered a vet procedure how cool!
what a cute character interaction with rafiki

It was REALLY funny hearing a stranger scream because she was so surprised to see the characters coming out! :lmao:

Not gonna lie, I kind of wanted to color with the Green Army Man too. :goodvibes

The vet procedure was one of the coolest things I've seen at AK, and it was just a kangaroo! I can't even imagine seeing one of the big cats or a gorilla on the table!

Rafiki was one of our best meets after the princesses and Baloo. :)

I think it just means we are both on here too often!




Hmmmm, another negative towards going in November, no Characterpalooza unless there is a night without Fantasmic! I also realized if we want to do the Disney YES program we would have to go in October. Decisions, Decisions!

:lmao: On my days off, that is totally true!

Hmmmm...good luck with whatever you decide! I know it can be a tough decision to make.

I love the t-shirts you guys were wearing on your DHS day!

Oh, and all the mention of DS and hot dogs is really making me want one right now.

I've NEVER seen Chip in a Photopass photo before! That's adorable!

So cool that you saw the kangaroo! We saw a tiny rat, haha. We did find out that that morning, they had had a tiger in there! I can't believe we missed that.

Thanks! It was the only way I could convince DH to agree to wear matching shirts.

Don't read the rest of this TR craving hot dogs, because there are quite a few more in our future, since that's all Paxton wanted to eat!! :lmao:

I would be SO excited to see a tiger, and would have been totally bummed to have just missed out on one for a rat! The kangaroo was still really cool & interesting though.

So I read your entire PTR and started reading your TR when you started it (I always love your TRs I think I've read them all!) anyway, I tried to keep up on my phone but always fall behind and end up reading the same thing over and over again. Well I spent the last 2 days reading and am FINALLY caught up!!!

Aww, thanks! :goodvibes I'm glad you were able to get caught up! How is that little cutie of yours doing? Getting big I'm sure!

Just saw the tag in your signature, and congrats on the 7 months of breastfeeding! It can be such a challenge sometimes, but so rewarding. :)
 
The first time we hopped on that train and took off sideways it was kind of a shock!

DD makes us spend hours out there, and we've never seen a vet procedure. We saw them carrying a snake away once after they were done though. That should count.;)
 
Your Animal Kingdom pictures are wonderful. That park ranks high with my crew. On many trips to Rafiki's, we have seen all the way from a tiny mouse up to a great big tiger on the table. In every instance, each animal was treated with the utmost respect and care. My oldest granddaughter is animal crazy, and she loves spending time at Rafiki's reading about all of the 'creepy crawlies' and watching them in action.
 
The first time we hopped on that train and took off sideways it was kind of a shock!

DD makes us spend hours out there, and we've never seen a vet procedure. We saw them carrying a snake away once after they were done though. That should count.;)

It was a weird feeling on the train, but a pretty cool perspective nonetheless.

Too bad that you have never seen a vet procedure, but maybe one time you will. I think the snake would freak me out though!

Your Animal Kingdom pictures are wonderful. That park ranks high with my crew. On many trips to Rafiki's, we have seen all the way from a tiny mouse up to a great big tiger on the table. In every instance, each animal was treated with the utmost respect and care. My oldest granddaughter is animal crazy, and she loves spending time at Rafiki's reading about all of the 'creepy crawlies' and watching them in action.

:welcome:

Thanks! We love AK too, and it is such an easy and beautiful park to photograph!

I would LOVE to see one of the big cats up close like that. I am hoping we can go there again and see something cool on our next trip and maybe giving the petting zoo a try. Paxton seemed to really love running around to all of the different creepy crawlies and checking them out!
 
Day 8 Continued: Saturday October 27th

After taking the train back from Rafiki's Planet Watch, we decided that I would head to Dinoland while DH ran to get us some FP's for Expedition Everest. Before we split up though, we spotted DeVine!

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After watching her for a couple of minutes (DS was not nearly as interested in her as we were!), we stopped again for a little mini photoshoot in front of the Tree of Life.

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Eventually we split up and I continued on towards Dinoland while DH made the detour for EE FP's and evidently took this photo.

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DS and I were here!

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By the time we met back up it was 11:30 so we decided to go ahead and grab some lunch at Restaurantosaurus. We have actually never eaten here because we are usually only in AK for one meal a trip and have always chosen Pizzafari. But since we had eaten there on our AK afternoon, we decided to change it up and head here instead.

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I decided to get a burger, but we were thrilled to find hot dogs here since that was about all we could get DS to eat that week on a somewhat consistent basis. Even better, they had hot dogs topped with mac & cheese, a favorite of his! And not the gross cold Kraft mac & cheese he had been served other places either. So we thought this would be perfect for him. After deciding on what we wanted, DH stayed in line to order while I took DS to get a table. The place was empty, so we had our pick of tables. I thought about going inside the Airstream camper since my parents had told us about it being a seating area, but since it was just two big booths, we ended up getting a table in that same room but not actually inside the camper.

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A picture I took while waiting. Too funny!​

While we waited, I noticed the music all had to do with dinosaurs and my ears caught the song Walk the Dinosaur by Was (Not Was). This is going to devolve in a little side story but bear with me! I don't know about other parts of the country, but in south Louisiana, all of the Catholic schools have a fair once a year with rides, games, entertainment, etc. as a big fundraiser for the school. And when I was a kid, every year my school would have their fair, and on the weekends during the day, classes would perform their fair dance on the stage. Every year, each class picked a song and the teachers came up with a dance and we would practice for weeks leading up to our weekend to perform. Except that every single year for I don't even know how many years, both 5th grade classes ALWAYS performed the exact same dance to the exact same song, Walk the Dinosaur. So even before I actually had to perform it, I knew the dance from seeing all the classes before me perform it at the fair. So now, every time I hear that song, I ALWAYS start mentally doing the dance in my head!

Back to AK, the song comes on, and I couldn't help myself, I started doing the dance (well, the arm movements since I was still sitting), and singing it to Paxton, which just cracked him up. Then HE started dancing!! So basically, all of that back story was to lead up to this video of Paxton dancing!


DH returned shortly after with our food and I found he had purchased the Halloween souvenir mug as well!

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DS happily ate his hot dog, but we were both surprised that he refused to eat the mac & cheese. He was SO funny with food this trip! Stuff we thought he would eat no problem because he eats it at home, he wouldn't touch. And we never eat hot dogs at home, but that was all he wanted to eat in the parks! It was a very frustrating week, because I felt like he was hardly eating anything all week. Currently he seems to be going through a growth spurt because he eats like crazy for dinner most nights where dinner used to be a fight!

After lunch, we stopped off to ride Triceratops Spin since the line was short and that was about all we could ride with DS in Dinoland anyway.

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Ready to ride!

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Not so sure about this now...

He was nervous again about getting on the dinosaurs and held onto me tight when we started going up. But then he calmed down and was okay for the rest of our dinosaur flight.

I guess we put the camera away at that point, because I have NO PICTURES from Asia (the horror! :scared1:). But we did go over there so we could use our FP's for Expedition Everest. The standby line said 70 minutes, and the FP line looked like it had gotten backed up. I heard a woman say, "Look at all the Fast Pass users, I bet it is shorter to go the normal way!" I laughed at that as I breezed through the FP queue and boarded a train in less than 10 minutes. Clearly, I should have used the "normal way." :lmao: It was a fun ride as always, but the backwards part disoriented me more than usual.

I met up with DH and DS in the shop and took over the stroller so DH could go ride. I walked around the store looking at shirts, and DH and I both ended up getting the same shirt.

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The front

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The back​

When DH came off of the ride, we got in line to make the purchase, and it was taking FOREVER. So I started off towards the exit with DS because he was really wearing down and ready for a nap, with the plan that DH would catch up to us. Well apparently he went in a different direction towards the front of the park, and I was getting aggravated because I ended up having to take DS out of the stroller and hold him because riding in the stroller was putting him to sleep! So now I have a big backpack on, I'm holding a toddler on one hip and pushing the stroller with the other hand. Not fun! But we finally met up with DH and got to the car. We managed to keep DS awake on the car ride back to Bonnet Creek, and he crashed for his nap.

UP NEXT: A Magical Evening
 
Ok, now I really want to see how the Walk the Dinosaur goes. :lmao: Paxton's version is cute. :goodvibes

I think the only time I was in Restaurantosaurus was when I was looking for a restroom on my way to a FP run to Dinosaur.

Fun update! Love the Mountain Rescue tshirt!
 
Before we split up though, we spotted DeVine!
Cool! I've still never seen her. But that's probably because we don't spend enough time at AK.

By the time we met back up it was 11:30 so we decided to go ahead and grab some lunch at Restaurantosaurus. We have actually never eaten here because we are usually only in AK for one meal a trip and have always chosen Pizzafari. But since we had eaten there on our AK afternoon, we decided to change it up and head here instead.
I haven't tried either of those. I'm still stuck on Flame Tree and I can't see that one changing. :rotfl2:

So now, every time I hear that song, I ALWAYS start mentally doing the dance in my head!
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

So it's kind of like your personal, IASW, but with dance moves?

The standby line said 70 minutes, and the FP line looked like it had gotten backed up. I heard a woman say, "Look at all the Fast Pass users, I bet it is shorter to go the normal way!"
I love hearing people say something like that when I'm in the parks, because I know I won't likely ever have to worry about them being in a line in front of me. :rotfl2::lmao:

I ended up having to take DS out of the stroller and hold him because riding in the stroller was putting him to sleep! So now I have a big backpack on, I'm holding a toddler on one hip and pushing the stroller with the other hand. Not fun! But we finally met up with DH and got to the car. We managed to keep DS awake on the car ride back to Bonnet Creek, and he crashed for his nap.
So, I take it he won't stay asleep if you move him? That is brutal. DS is pretty good about staying asleep, so we always want him to fall asleep in the stroller or the car.:rotfl:
 















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