The ABC's of Sauntering Through WDW- J is for: Just Like That, It's Judiciously Ended! (4/23)

[GoofyFan1515]

I am here and caught up but...


Leaving in 2 days to go west so I will be behind again...

Hey. ....me too! Where are YOU headed?

 

[Steppesister]

But maybe none in the US?

Possibly.

But, interestingly, I googled Best US Airports just for fun and to see if I could find out and PDX made #1!!!!! How about that? And our kooky tradition of PDX carpet selfies even got a mention.

https://www.cheapair.com/blog/5-u-s-airports-with-the-best-amenities-for-travelers/

More like River Dance. But only from the waist up.

I'd pay money to see that.

 

[pkondz]

But, interestingly, I googled Best US Airports just for fun and to see if I could find out and PDX made #1!!!!! How about that? And our kooky tradition of PDX carpet selfies even got a mention.

Huh! How bou dat?

I'd pay money to see that.

Sure! I'll send you a photo.
I'd send a video.... but it's the same thing.

 

[Steppesister]

Are there no decent daytime flights? Same thing happens when you're flying from east to west!

No, there aren't any flights from here goinig East that leave after about 9:40, so from Salem, you'd STILL have to leave before 7:00 to check in on time. And you don't arrive until after 7:00 PM. If you leave later, you won't get in until almost 11:00PM. Either way, an entire day lost of Disney. Not even an arrival time early enough to go to DTD for dinner.

Alaska does have a non-stop that arrives at 3:15, but again leaves at Stupid O' Thirty.

Depending on the agent less is better .......or not nearly enough.

Fair point. Mine was the former.

Never look a gift squirrel in the mouth

Would I find chewed up nuts?

Even that 6 year old little girl sitting across the aisle?

Yes, even her.

Looks like fun. ...but it ain't no YeHaa Bob!

Not much else can compare to The Bob.

 

[Steppesister]

I am here and caught up but...


Leaving in 2 days to go west so I will be behind again...

West? As in my area West?? Do tell!

Hey. ....me too! Where are YOU headed?

You too!! What a coincidence.

Huh! How bou dat?

I think our little airport is quite charming. Small and easy to navigate, and yet, loads of coffee places, bona fide fantastic eats to kill time with, and quite nice shopping to browse. Covered walkways to stay dry too. Free wifi, enough charting stations for everyone, water bottle filling stations every few feet, and clean bathrooms (perhaps the biggest bonus).

Sure! I'll send you a photo.
I'd send a video.... but it's the same thing.

So, not quite as snatched as that guy...

 

[Flossbolna]

Love the pictures!!!

On early morning travel to Disney: very topical as I am typing this in a train to Disney. Neither of us was thrilled this morning that we decided to book a 6am train. But now we are starting to be very excited!!

And yes, Frankfurt has showers. I think a lot of airports have them, especially hubs for international flights. Not sure about smaller local ones.

 

[amazingact21]

I learn a new word every day. Now I wanna find that hotel in AK...

Lampposts make for the best "L" in the scavenger hunt, especially Animal Kingdom's.

 

[pkondz]

I think our little airport is quite charming. Small and easy to navigate, and yet, loads of coffee places, bona fide fantastic eats to kill time with, and quite nice shopping to browse. Covered walkways to stay dry too. Free wifi, enough charting stations for everyone, water bottle filling stations every few feet, and clean bathrooms (perhaps the biggest bonus).

Hmmm.... ours doesn't have much in terms of food. A few small spots. Free wifi, Starbucks and Timmies (Tim Hortons), not much shopping, no covered walkways because it's just one building, some charging stations, no water bottle filling stations that I can think of. Clean bathrooms, though.

PDX has the clear win here.

So, not quite as snatched as that guy...

"Snatched"? Is that a good thing?
And... not quite like that. Less arm motion (as in zero) an less side to side. Less hair too, actually.

 

[Steppesister]

On early morning travel to Disney: very topical as I am typing this in a train to Disney. Neither of us was thrilled this morning that we decided to book a 6am train. But now we are starting to be very excited!!

I think once you get going it all gets better. It’s just the wake up and travel to the plane or train that so tough!

And yes, Frankfurt has showers. I think a lot of airports have them, especially hubs for international flights. Not sure about smaller local ones.

I thought so. But I also think it’s an amenity that’s overlooked by a lot of Americans when traveling.

 

[Steppesister]

I learn a new word every day. Now I wanna find that hotel in AK...

Lampposts make for the best "L" in the scavenger hunt, especially Animal Kingdom's.

There are actually a lot of African words scattered around animal kingdom. I’m sure they all mean something. When I get to V I’m going to have to do a bit more research…

Animal kingdom has some amazing fixtures throughout the park. I love that some of them have quite an Arts and Crafts period/style feel and others are just cute and whimsical.

 

[Steppesister]

Hmmm.... ours doesn't have much in terms of food. A few small spots. Free wifi, Starbucks and Timmies (Tim Hortons), not much shopping, no covered walkways because it's just one building, some charging stations, no water bottle filling stations that I can think of. Clean bathrooms, though.

PDX has the clear win here.

I find it just a little odd that while Universal now has a Voodoo Donuts, our own airport does not.

"Snatched"? Is that a good thing?
And... not quite like that. Less arm motion (as in zero) an less side to side. Less hair too, actually.

I’m assuming so. I picked it up from my kids, so one never knows…

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

But, I like a challenge and this was something to keep me in the mindset of looking for the details of the parks and not merely rushing from one attraction to the next without noticing the incredible theming the Imagineers go to great lengths to make the parks so amazing!

Always good to be in that mindset when visiting.

** Touron- Half tourist, half moron. The kind that stops in the middle of the walkways to read a map. Or tries to take 3 very small carry-ons through Southwest's jetway.

Might have to steal that term.

There are at least 3 places I know of in Asia that you can find some crampons. You can easily find a 4th set if you eat a couple too many eggrolls at Yak and Yeti.

I see your Dad Joke game is strong.

Sure, it's got some cute sight gags and theming, but just not an area that I love.

I remember reading an interview with an Imagineer on the design of Dinoland, and he talked about the back story and how it was supposed to be the fly-by-night tourist trap that rose up next to a prominent archaeological dig. Someone complained about how tacky it looked and he said, "Do you know how hard we worked to make it look this bad??"

Still, I don't go to Disney to see "tacky". I think that's the problem.

There are actually several hotels and guesthouses to choose from to accommodate your adventures in Harambe and Anandapur! This one seems legit!

Cool, I know where I'm staying on the next trip!

Appropriately, it means "to be: appeased, comforted, entertained, cooled, pacified, refreshed, relieved, and/or soothed"

Is this listed under "wives"?

You know it HAD to be these guys!

Oh, good! You had a return engagement!

 

[pkondz]

I find it just a little odd that while Universal now has a Voodoo Donuts, our own airport does not.

Why is that?

I’m assuming so. I picked it up from my kids, so one never knows…

Then it probably means the opposite of what you think it means!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Wonderful pictures, as always. I'm just curious how many lenses you carry? I will preface this by reminding you that I am not a photographer, but I appreciate photography. I just have the standard lens (35-100mm?) that came with my camera. I do have one "zoom" lens (65-200mm?) but I don't carry a large camera bag or take that lens around Disney. If I could call myself a photographer, I should probably know the exact size of my lenses. Your pictures of the animals are much "zoomier" and nicer than mine - particularly the giraffe and warthog (is it actually a warthog? something tells me the safari guide called it a tusked pig or something and perhaps different from a warthog).

Not my thing since from what I hear the Primeval Hurl is worse than the Puke Cups

It is. Please do not make the mistake I made one time - and only one time. It was 8 years ago, and I have not been foolish enough to go on Primeval Hurl since. It's Puke Cups on steroids.

 

[pkondz]

I developed an ABC-style Scavenger Hunt to keep me busy during my park days.

Ah yes, I remember that. I did not bet against you this time.

this was something to keep me in the mindset of looking for the details of the parks and not merely rushing from one attraction to the next without noticing the incredible theming the Imagineers go to great lengths to make the parks so amazing! It did create another kind of "rushing" that I didn't expect, but I'll get to that later.

Hmmm... I can see that. Rushing to complete the list. I think I can see how that would be.
At least I suspect that's what you might be referring to.

The items had to stick to the original list until all park scouring was complete. If I couldn't find something after a reasonably thorough search, I gave myself permission to sub something else in. I'll give an example when I get to "V".

I call foul! You either completed your list or you didn't!
"Well, I was supposed to find wasabi, but here's a wombat..."

If I found a better or more unique substitute, I went with that.

Well.... you can go with that in addition to your list.

If I said "Did you see it?" referring to a Marvin the Martian in my TR and someone says "Yes! I saw a train!"... that doesn't count ya know.



Then again... it's your scavenger hunt, so you can make the rules anything you want.

** Touron- Half tourist, half moron. The kind that stops in the middle of the walkways to read a map. Or tries to take 3 very small carry-ons through Southwest's jetway.

A is for Animals:
(probably the easiest letter on any of the 4 game lists)

Animals? In Animal Kingdom?

Who would've guessed?

Nice shot!

Those are great bird shots!

There are at least 3 places I know of in Asia that you can find some crampons. You can easily find a 4th set if you eat a couple too many eggrolls at Yak and Yeti.

I feel a sudden urge to avoid the eggrolls at Yak and Yeti.

from what I hear the Primeval Hurl is worse than the Puke Cups and my back would rebel rather quickly if I tried to ride Dinosaur.

My back is (oddly enough) fine with Dinosaur... but Prime-evil Hurl is... horrible. Imagine getting T-boned in a bad car accident. Again... and again... and again... and again...

just not an area that I love

Me neither.
I get they put a lot of work into making it look that way, but... it's just not for me.

I wished the background behind the white orchids had been a bit darker.

Yeah, that'd be tough to fix in post. Too bad you didn't move just a bit to your right when you shot it.

I have a story coming up for these guys in a later update... for now... I present one dorky gorilla:

Looking forward to the story.

"one dorky gorilla"...

Factoid: I looked up "burudika" just on a hunch that it actually means something in Swahili. True to Disney authenticity in storytelling, it does. Appropriately, it means "to be: appeased, comforted, entertained, cooled, pacified, refreshed, relieved, and/or soothed"...

Huh! Cool! And... impressive.

exactly what a good hotel should do for a patron, no?

Well, unless you're the Ramada Inn by the Portland Airport. Then you are terrified, sleepless, and skeeved.

Ah yes... I remember that.

So, the next time you are visiting Kenya, Tanzania, or Botswana, find a place that can burudika you!

So maybe I should cancel my booking at the Ramada Inn, Botswana?

These were the Jeeps I originally thought of when I made my list:

Me too.

I present the River Kali!

Did you squirt the riders?

L is for Lamppost:​

Quite possibly the most interesting one in AK.

They do have some pretty interesting ones there.

You know it HAD to be these guys!

Of course!

Cute shot of you.

Don't mind me... just acting like a total doofus there.

Nah. Ya look adorbs.

 

[docsoliday1]

J is for: Just Getting Started...​

My usual style is to write my chapters NON-chronologically preferring to use a more topical approach. It gives me more creative license. However, having said that, I will get the pre-Disney portion of my travels out of the way, so to speak. That way, once we get rolling with The House of Mouse we can stay there. Mostly. I did take a pretty massive diversion this time, as you will soon see.

The day started, well…. at night. Most flights east depart in the wee bits of morning, which means you leave your house in the dead of night for those all too early check-ins. It super sucks. But, I did have a nice gesture of kindness offered to me at the last minute which softened the blow. I had been determined to save money on lesser fun things (like parking), so had decided to leave after work on Monday and sleep in the car in the long-term parking lot until I had to catch the 4:00 AM shuttle. I wasn’t going to sleep much anyway, so why not pocket the $150 I'd have spent on the inevitable crappy night's sleep at an equally crappy hotel? A friend thought that was not the safest or most comfortable option, so offered to drive me up at 3:15 AM to PDX. There is yet a ray of hope for the human race. Kindness still exists. Bleary eyed, but functional, we made the uneventful drive up to Portland where I was dumped curbside.

That was very nice of them. While I'm not a worrying type, I would agree sleeping in your car might not be the safest/best thing.

Security was a mob scene but the world was made a safer place after (only) my left ankle was given a through pat down. After my limited groping, I made

So, you're saying the TSA guy had a left ankle fetish? That's a bit bizarre...even for a TSA agent.

So weird, and I still have a brain ache from trying to figure it all out, so I’ve given up. I still need to call though and make double sure that I indeed was refunded for that 2nd flight I’d mistakenly booked including the early bird upgrade I’d added.

I just got a brain ache trying to read/figure that out.

I grabbed the King of All breakfasts in Denver- the ever-consistent, yet mediocre, Egg McMuffin and then it was time to board (without early bird, so yeah, the C group).

Only thing that could make it worse is coff...err never mind.

It was then I experienced the most idiotic of policies in place on the planet. Yes, we all know we’re limited to 2 carry-ons. Fine, I get it. G

enerally, I am a to-the-letter rule follower. However, when I got to the front of the line, I had a VERY (wallet-sized) purse on, my laptop bag, and my rolly carry-on. The gate Nazi literally tells me that I have to put my purse into my laptop bag so I only have 2 total before I can board. So, I take off my jacket, take it off my shoulder, put it on top of my laptop, put my jacket back on, hold up the line, and hand her my boarding pass. I was salty. Still am. I walked about 5 feet down the ramp stopped (yes, I made sure to block the way since holding up the line was obviously no problem), pulled it back out, and put it back on my shoulder still WELL thinner than 99% of the other folks getting on board. Seriously, it’s about space, People. Perhaps there are bigger fish she could fry to be useful. Yes, I understand there are plenty of people out there more than happy to take advantage of the rule that necessitated it in the first place, but it is too much to ask to have people in authority exercise even the tiniest bit of common sense? I had it inside my jacket and was still thinner than everyone else on the plane. I had my purse beside me IN the seat and still didn’t invade my neighbor’s space. It’s dumb. And that’s how I really feel.

Yeah, sometimes those people are just....oh wait, it's a family board. You know the new ride in TSL that has an acronym other than SDD? Yeah, that one!

I’ll jump ahead to the highlights of my time in Bowling Green with Mom and Dad- the first half of my vacation. It’s always delightful to spend time with them. They love to eat out, so we did a fair amount of that, but one night, Dad grilled some delightful steaks. Not once, but twice, I was treated to gorgeous sunsets. It’s a running joke that as much as I LOVE a good thunderstorm, there is NEVER one while I’m there. I haven’t gotten to see one in Orlando the last few times I’ve been there either. Go figure. I suppose when I order the VIP Weather Package, it excludes the short thunderstorm upgrade.

Dang. Never did that. How much does the VIP weather package run? Disney prices, I'm thinking probably $2-$3K?

Great pictures, but that is nothing unusual.

I took time out to get a mani-pedi as well and made sure to get my fingers done so they’d theme well with my Halloween costume. One can never be too spooky! I think you’ll agree they were just right when I get to that chapter. The toes were a generic Disney thing with Mickey heads on red. Kinda liked it too. I even got to sport them not once but twice on this trip, so consider that $$ well spent.

Although they don't look as good as the mani and pedi I got.....mmmmmuuuuwwwahhhhaaaa. Sorry, tried to keep a straight face. I crack myself up. Hey, at least one person likes my jokes! Seriously, they look good!

Did you wonder exactly what vacation looks like?

After getting the mani and the pedi, I would think you'd do a better job of applying sunscreen. You obviously missed below your knees and I thought you supposed to rub it in for better effectiveness.

One evening I treated my mom and dad to a night out at a piano bar where we all enjoyed a gorgeous charcuterie, a plate of sliders, a mule for me (when in Kentucky…) and a glass of Oregon Moscato for Mom and Dad. Ironically, it is their very favorite wine of all time that they discovered on their last trip to visit us, and we had a nice chuckle over that.

Char-cut-a-what? Funny you mention this. According to what I just looked up last month (had this conversation with my SIL), charcuterie is supposed to be the preserving/curing of meats not necessarily a platter of meats/cheeses. So, what I see is you had a meat/cheese/veggie platter.

Hello, Mickey! Hello, Minnie!





I like your new buses. Take me to your people...

Have your people take me to your people. Hmm, just doesn't sound the same.

 

[cinderkelly]

It did create another kind of "rushing" that I didn't expect, but I'll get to that later.

That does not sound good. At all.

I'm a sucker for birds. They are definitely a challenge to photograph, but I came away with a couple of keepers.

I love this one the best!

hope you are enjoying a random smattering of AK photos as I sauntered around enjoying myself.

Beautiful photos, as always!

I hope you can stay engaged here as you can- we like you!

Aww thank you Liesa

 

[franandaj]

So I forget, did you make up A to Z lists for each one of the parks? It appears you have done well for yourself so far and very nice pictures too!

Love the "touron"!

 

[docsoliday1]

I am here and caught up but...


Leaving in 2 days to go west so I will be behind again...

Hey! I know you! Well, at least I met you which was good albeit too short.
I'm not sure if you've heard, but I'm moving down there, so next time hopefully will be longer to visit.

 

[docsoliday1]

3) The items had to be able to be found by any other **touron visiting the park on any given day- so normal, everyday items, or places, or stuff built into the parks that weren't say... seasonal or such.

** Touron- Half tourist, half moron. The kind that stops in the middle of the walkways to read a map. Or tries to take 3 very small carry-ons through Southwest's jetway.

Now, I finally know why you kept calling me Idion. Idiot moron. And here I was thinking it was term of endearment in Swahili. Thinking...gets me in trouble every time.