The Empty Nesters Magical Mystery Tour *1/28* Link to New Girl's TR p141

[MEK]

I cannot wait to have my cup of coffee in hand and sitting on my balcony in 76 days seeing that view.

I'm not a runner, but I imagine AKL is a hard place to run...there's not a lot of walkways or anything.

There really aren't. You sort of have to run through the parking lot a little bit. It's just awkward and not that relaxing!

I'm so sorry to hear that your stomach was bothering you. It's no fun not feeling right at Disney World.

It wan't one of my finest days, that's for sure!

I like your pictures, as always.

Thank you!

You can tell in that one group picture that you truly weren't feeling well. I hope the stomach got better really soon.

That was also because Denny kept pinching me in the side!

Animal Kingdom Lodge has recently become my favorite resort. That place is just incredible. Coffee and a savannah view sounds like one of the most perfect things ever!

It IS a fabulous resort, isn't it? I just love it there so much. It's really got so many positives and it really is themed SO well. Morning on the savannah was awesome! Love it!

Loving your pictures as usual, but your stomach pain has me worried! That just does not sound good.

Glad you like the pictures! Let's just say the stomach pain got worse before it got better.

Are you starting a new TR soon? Please send out the bat signal when you do!

Checking in !!!!

Hey Rosie!!!!! :good vibes You know I only update once a week!!!

 

[MEK]

Great updates on my favorite resort! And perfect transition to AK! Here's to hoping your stomach pains got better.

Isn't AK just wonderful? It is definitely one of my favorite resorts. To me it's the complete package!

Have to agree with you, those people in the back row of Dinosaur gave some good reactions.

They were awesome! I know they had to be staging that, but they did a great job!

Love the photos from the safari!

Thanks! :good vibes

I was so far behind again!

No worries! I am forever behind on everyone's TRs! BTW - did you start your new one yet????

I would probably have thought the same thing you did about your friends checking in and getting your room.
Glad it all worked out though there!

It makes me feel better that I am not the only one who would think the worse. I am very relieved it all worked out!

Oh no for the tummy ache...I hope it wasn't serious!

Let's just say it got worse before it got better! Boo!

At least you saw the lion...even if it was mostly butt!

Where there's a lion's butt there's hope of seeing more of the big cat!

AKL/AKV are such breathtaking resorts! I love your pictures from the balcony and around the pool.

Thanks! I do love the AKL. It's so different from the BWV. They are both wonderful resorts in their own way. But there really is something special about the AKL because its so different and so immersive on an entirely different level.

I enjoyed your pictures from AK, and your commentary on the ones from EE

I had to think of something! My EE pictures were so far inferior to the first round, but I didn't want to leave them out.

The idea to take just the upper pat of the Tree of Life was brilliant!

I like to shot above people's heads, so that's probably why it turned out that way. I hate having heads in my photos. I really need to get over that!

Not a bad safari- Amazing shot of a cheetah and Oh my on the lion picture. "Kitty" porn!

Kitty Porn - You got that right! At least I did get a pic of the cheetah. Not really sure what happened to his partner.

I am so sorry to hear you were suffering from such intense stomach pain. Hope it is nothing serious and doesn't impact your enjoyment of the day too much.

I ended up being fine that day, but that's not the end of the story!

Ahh, my home away from home -- AKL/Kidani.

AKL is SO great, isn't it? I just love it there! I would love to have it as a home resort! Such a great place. I really loved staying at the Jambo House. It was lovely!

I really like that rickshaw (or whatever it is) picture from when you first entered AK. And the hippo picture is awesome -- he looks so content!

Thanks!

The hippo really DOES look like he is totally chillin' Looks can be SO deceiving!

 

[jenseib]

Yes i did....link in my signature!

 

[MEK]

Cynthia will be disappointed.

I know. But she'll forgive me!

Such a great time to sit, be quiet, and enjoy the animals. I love it there.

I loved it. In fact, I was surprised how much I loved it because I was always a big fan on standard view - until this trip!

Yuck. I'm sorry you weren't feeling so hot.

Thanks!

Love this!

I do too. The theming in that park is so great!

It really WAS that bad. The colors were terribly muted and ugly. It looks much improved with no color at all.

He was probably thinking, "That's for making me carry all those #$%@ rafts up the hill at the water park."

Pay backs are a _____________.

Looks like the animatronics are working just fine.

Yup, just fine!

Wasn't expecting that to start my morning.

Sorry!

Sounds good to me!! That all sounds perfect.

Doesn't it? A perfect DIS utopia! I am SO in!

MEK, I'm sorry you weren't feeling well. Looks like you had a nice morning at AK, though.

We did. AK is one of my favorite parks so I wasn't going to let a stomach ache stop me from having fun!

 

[MEK]

I can't believe how far behind I am! Holy moly!

You weren't that far behind! I think you do a great job keeping up!

So fun to see you back in the bubble.

It's always good to be back in the bubble!

LOVE that you are at AKL. The room you got has quite the view for sure! How does the room compare to ones at Kidani? I have to say I was dying lauging at your mix up. That would totally have been like me to panic thinking that they had settled into my room and then not know how to "fix" it. Probably would have gone through all the same steps only to arrive at the same point...felling slightly silly (but relieved) that I had made and incorrect assumption.

That is EXACTLY how I felt. Very silly, slight embarrassed, and relieved all in one! But when I saw that view it just all faded into the background. A big Phew!

So was the sangria at Via Napoli again just meh?

No - it was really good in October, but it was meh when Cynthia and I were there in May. I don't know exactly what the problem was but it was almost like the juice or the wine was flat. If that makes sense. It was just off.

The people doing the dramatic pose on dinosaur are hilarious!!!

Aren't they? I LOL'd when I saw them!

Some of the animals that you took pictures of while on safari sure did strike some curious poses didn't they...

They sure did. Which is cool because I usually get the same poses over and over again. It was fun to see something a little new and different.

Great updates!!!

Thanks! :good vibes

Catching up on trip report reading today.

I love a good DIS catch up day!

Loved the Saint Augustine Pictures and the marina pictures make me want another few days at the beach.

Saint Augustine was wonderful. Truly a beautiful town and beach. I'm so glad we took a couple days to visit. It was perfect!

I would so freak out if my friends had done that to me...checked into the room and asked me where I was sleeping. You scored well with the view. I sure hope they have reclassified some studios at Kidani with that view and call them standards. I would so love it in January.

When she said that I assumed the worst, but I felt silly afterwards. In retrospect I think I overreacted a bit, but I was stressing and just assumed the worst. It all worked out perfectly and the view was sooooooo wonderful.

I don't think they have any reclassified at Kidani, but I'm really not positive. My standard view at Kidani was the bus stop. Needless to say - I did not drink coffee out there. However, a pool view would be nice. Kidani does have nice viewing windows all along the long corridor and a beautiful indoor lounge with a porch for viewing, plus the outside area.

I sure hope you got to feeling better. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[englishrose47]

Okay I am just sayin' Hi !!!!

 

[praisehisname]

I'm here and all caught up! Really curious to find out what the issue was that was causing you so much pain.

 

[MEK]

Great update MEK! Even your pics that you think are not up to par are really good! I love K-Safari...the animals guarantee that it will be different each time you ride...well, except for the darn lions! They normally are doing the same thing each time!

The lions are, sadly, very predictable. You got that right! But overall that turned out to be one of the better safari rides. There was a lot of action out on the savannah that day!

Strategic blade of grass there missy. Ball jokes are funny. I don't care who they belong to.

What's funny is I totally didn't notice that UNTIL I posted the pic. Didn't even take note of it during the editing process.

That baby zebra is so cute! Love all the animal pics..

The baby zebra was the cutest thing ever and we saw him on several occasions during our stay. The best part was that you knew he really couldn't go anywhere because he was stuck on that savannah!

I'm sorry you were hurting and darn that Denny for poking you. Men. Silly. Men.

After a week of getting poked in the side during EVERY picture he was REALLY getting on my nerves!!!!!

I'll still never get over you crazy people who have your cameras out on rides like EE. I need both hands for the death grip.

That's how I feel on ToT! I totally need both hands on that ride. That's how I manage to keep my butt in the seat. So to me the kudos goes to the people who can take pictures there. I'm sort of used to EE now!

 

[MEK]

I TOTALLY AM! It probably wasn't even that bad, but for us it was hot and gross!

Thank goodness you haven't been on the East Coast for the last few days. Today is better, but Monday and Tuesday was ridiculously hot and humid.

Oh no! Hopefully your stomach pain went away. That's very odd. Was it only when you were pressing on it or when you were walking around the park as well?

It was always aggravated by movement - like running. Either that or twisting and bending over. It was starting to get annoying that day but I tried my best to ignore it.

Good shot of the lion bits!

Thanks!

Thought I commented on the animals etc. Maybe not.

Great shots - love the lion!!

That darn lion showing me his stuff, but not his face! Really? REALLY?

Baby anythings are cute - but especially baby zebra!!

The baby zebra was so adorable and it was great to know that I could just sit there at stare at his/her as long as I wanted to because she wasn't going anywhere!

How did you manage to go on the bumpy rides AND take pictures AND have stomach pain?? I'm impressed!
I hope your pain went away soon and wasn't too horribly serious.

I was doing my best to ignore my stomach pain. And it wasn't continuous, although the bumps did set it off.

Now I'm trying to remember any FB updates from your trip, and I can't. Maybe that's a good sign that it wasn't too bad. Or I just have a lousy memory!

I did not post about it at all, so stay tuned for the exciting stomach pain conclusion.

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Checking in........so I'm more up to date than Rosie!

 

[MEK]

Just finished catching up. Great reporting while I was gone on vacation! Love the pictures as always and you are selling me on making Animal Kingdom Lodge where we need to stay next summer. It looks awesome!

Welcome Back! I am totally enjoying reading about your trip so far!

So glad you were able to get all caught up!

The AKL is GREAT! It's really such a cool place. So immersive. Beautiful scenery, lovely decorations, great pools, wonderful restaurants. Need I say more?

Yes i did....link in my signature!

Thanks for letting me know! I am all subbed and enjoying every minute of it!

Okay I am just sayin' Hi !!!!

I love when you stop by to say Hi Rosie!

When's W-burg? Next weekend!

I'm here and all caught up! Really curious to find out what the issue was that was causing you so much pain.

praisehisname! Thanks for joining in! And yay for getting caught up!

The exciting stomach pain mystery will continue in future episodes!

 

[MEK]

Checking in........so I'm more up to date than Rosie!

OMG! You two are a mess!

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[afwdwfan]

But I didn’t really like how I felt and I decided not to drink any alcohol that day to see if it would get better.

You’ll have to stick around for THAT exciting conclusion.

Well, this isn't a good way to start things off for the day.

Darn - I look serious! You know why - My stomach HURT! When I would lean over to put something on the floor or pick it up just that pressure of the restraint hurt me. I think I was trying not to move too much!

You really must not be feeling well. You don't look like you're having any fun in the picture.

But the award for most animated ride photo has to go to those folks in the back seat. Awesome!

That is pretty great.

We saw some ducks. I know. I know. Try to contain the excitement!

But they're African ducks.

 

[MEK]

Well, this isn't a good way to start things off for the day.

It wasn't the best start to a morning, but I was determined to just roll with it.

You really must not be feeling well. You don't look like you're having any fun in the picture.

I do look pretty serious, don't I? I think it was a combo of trip burn out and just not feeling great. I was losing a little enthusiasm, don't you think?

That is pretty great.

Their picture is absolutely hysterical. Totally cracked me up and I didn't even really notice them before I went to post the pic for this update. They are TOO funny!

But they're African ducks.

Oh yeah, right! That DOES make a difference!

 

[eandesmom]

Waking up at the AKL with a savannah view (albeit reclassified) is AMAZING! I don’t think its too much of a surprise that, once I got a cup of coffee in my hand, I sat outside to take in the view.

Sorry no verandah coffee cup pictures.

SLACKER!

No, not really, that's my first picture of the day. Not yours. You are off the hook. Though I assume you had coffee

But I do have this - First picture of the Day

So cool and what a totallly different view than our reclassified 1B. Oh I hope I hope I hope I hope for one. Much as I think they are odd verandah's (long, skinny, not enough furniture) the view is just...

AH

Pure Zen.

I went for my run, which wasn’t as horrible as the day before. For those of you that run, the AKL stinks for running. It really is the worst resort for running. There is literally no where to go. I ran to Kidani and I ran on a service road and I may have even run on the treadmill at the Kidani gym. I don’t have any pictures so I can’t say where I went with 100% certainly.

Well I guess it's good that my next 1-2 stays there are unlikely to involve running. At least any running at the resort itself. UGH.

But I do know that I noticed I was having pain and tightness in my upper abdomen and lower chest. It felt light heartburn, but also like a big lump. My stomach literally felt sore when I pushed in on the area of pain.

UGH UGH and UGH.

And hopefully not cause for worry. I swear Jeff is convinced he is getting a hernia with some soreness...but no lump. I really hope it is nothing. I swear, stressing over stuff like that can cause new things!

But I didn’t really like how I felt and I decided not to drink any alcohol that day to see if it would get better.

You’ll have to stick around for THAT exciting conclusion.

Hmmmmm

Back at the villa the light was much better for pictures. In fact, here’s a picture of the People Pen that so many people complained about. For the record, I did not see one person in this pen over the course of the next 4 days, Just sayin.

We saw a few, but they were checking on the cool bird and the next that was in it. It was fun to watch them!

Darn - I look serious! You know why - My stomach HURT! When I would lean over to put something on the floor or pick it up just that pressure of the restraint hurt me. I think I was trying not to move too much!

DISLIKE

See that left hand? He kept grabbing me and that’s why I was gritting my teeth instead of actually smiling!

Ok, he gets another bop in the head for that. SO something Jeff would do!

Woo Hoo Safari!!!! And I started off with my signature picture!

I love your signature pic!

Yup - there’s a lion derriere



What the…?



This picture would not be DIS friendly if it wasn’t for the random leaf of grass.

Oh my word, Lion Butt!

 

[MEK]

SLACKER!

No, not really, that's my first picture of the day. Not yours. You are off the hook. Though I assume you had coffee

I am a slacker when it comes to cool coffee cups on the verandah. I just use the resort ones and they are so lame!

So cool and what a totallly different view than our reclassified 1B. Oh I hope I hope I hope I hope for one. Much as I think they are odd verandah's (long, skinny, not enough furniture) the view is just...

AH

Pure Zen.

It was SO lovely! I really got spoiled with that view. It was pretty magical and I could have that same view every trip to Disney and be a happy girl.

Well I guess it's good that my next 1-2 stays there are unlikely to involve running. At least any running at the resort itself. UGH.

I did find a service road path and I think I have cell phone pictures from that. I am not sure if I was even allowed back there, but I went anyone and I never saw any "CM Only" signs. I took me about a mile away from the resort. Maybe more. I don't really remember.

UGH UGH and UGH.
And hopefully not cause for worry. I swear Jeff is convinced he is getting a hernia with some soreness...but no lump. I really hope it is nothing. I swear, stressing over stuff like that can cause new things!

Well, it wasn't a hernia. I can tell you that. But it did end up being something and it did put me out of commission for a bit, but I'll get to that soon enough.

Hmmmmm

Yeah Hmmmmmmm.......

We saw a few, but they were checking on the cool bird and the next that was in it. It was fun to watch them!

I bet it was. So your view, I take it, was not the same people pen? I guess there are multiple people pens.

DISLIKE

And look how grumpy and serious I look? Yikes!!!!!

Ok, he gets another bop in the head for that. SO something Jeff would do!

I love your bop in the head response to the half marathon. For the record, I am pretty convinced I am going to register. I will register by the end of the weekend. I think!

I love your signature pic!

Thanks! I enjoy getting that shot. Sometimes I can't because of where I am sitting in the truck. It's always a good ride when I get that.

Oh my word, Lion Butt!

Yup - serious lion butt.

 

[tazdev3225]

Playing catch up while my puppy sleeps on my lap.

Love the early morning pics. I love watching the sun come up in Disney.

You got some great pics of the babies. Who can resist a baby zebra.

I'm not an EE fan anymore and my husband has put it on the no ride list. Bad back and I was hurting last time I rode it.

Hope the stomach thing wasn't that bad although it sounds like it could have been. My DH just had an ultrasound because he may have torn an abdominal muscle. Waiting to hear the results.

I LOVE the lion butt pics. I now aim for those pics because my youngest granddaughter loves them.

OK caught up.

 

[MEK]

Playing catch up while my puppy sleeps on my lap.

AWWWWWW! How sweet!

Love the early morning pics. I love watching the sun come up in Disney.

Who doesn't love watching the sun come up in Disney? It's the BEST!!!!

You got some great pics of the babies. Who can resist a baby zebra.

That zebra was adorable! OMG! I could have watched the baby zebra all day!

I'm not an EE fan anymore and my husband has put it on the no ride list. Bad back and I was hurting last time I rode it.

I can't sit in the back of EE, so I know exactly what you mean! I am really picky about where I sit on a roller coaster just so I avoid getting beat up. I hate having a "no ride" list, but sometime you just have to put a ride on it.

Hope the stomach thing wasn't that bad although it sounds like it could have been. My DH just had an ultrasound because he may have torn an abdominal muscle. Waiting to hear the results.

Oh No! Your poor DH. I hope he's OK. A torn abdominal muscle must be very painful.

More on the stomach thing coming!

I LOVE the lion butt pics. I now aim for those pics because my youngest granddaughter loves them.

Lion pics or Lion butt pics? I bet you have some lovely lion pics. I have only gotten a picture of the entire lion once. That's pretty pathetic.

OK caught up.

Yay!

 

[MEK]

Show Time

Hey All.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Before I start my update I want to give you a future trip update because I have a few things on the horizon.

First - At the end of August I will be taking a short trip to Williamsburg, which is my second favorite vacation destination after Disney World. There are so many things I enjoy doing there, but I will definitely be hitting Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. I am seriously considering buying a Busch Gardens AP so I can use it again in Florida.

October is our 25th anniversary trip. We will be staying 2 nights at VWL and 3 nights at VGF. Of course, the WL pool is closed while we are there. UGH! But with our pool hopping privileges and a car I am sure we will be just fine.

We plan to go to the MNSSHP on the 19th. We have something special planned for our anniversary on the 21st. We won't have a Disney Park pass, but if we get that BG AP we will be heading to Seaworld for a day or two. I would also like to visit Universal Studios for a couple days, but I really don't want to get too overbooked before the cruise. I would like to have a day just to chill at the Grand Flo and do nothing. One of the things I really want to do this trip is visit the World of Beer (or whatever its called) that Princess Caitlin seems to love so much. I’ve got to see this place for myself.

Then its time for our first cruise. We are doing a 4 night Dream double dip that sails on the 23rd. I have to be honest. I haven’t really gotten into the whole fish extender thing. Is that bad? I’m subbed to a FB group and I guess I should try to meet some online friends, but I haven’t really felt like it. Am I missing out?

After the cruise we had a night at BCV. We invited K&T to come spend some time with us on this trip. I was going to book them a studio at WDW, but instead they want to pick us up from the cruise and now we are all staying at the Ron Jon Resort for one night. Apparently, they stayed here before and loved it. We'll see. They are going to drive us to the airport the next day. So I reluctantly canceled our one night at the BC. BOO!

We have a rental car arranged that we can drop off at the port. We are on the same cruise with Podsnel. I know its going to be a blast.

Our (well my) plan for 2015 was a trip to DL (the mothership) at the end of February. But Denny wanted to wait, so we have tentatively pushed that back to early June 2015. If we go then we will invite Nick to join us. My dear husband is set to retire in May. Even though I am very happy for him, I have very mixed feelings about it. *sigh*

I knew I still needed a Feb trip, so for late February we are going to do a split stay between WDW and Vero. I booked our first three nights at SSR. I had no idea when I booked that It just happens to be the Princess 1/2 marathon that weekend. I already know of three DISers who are going to run it. I am considering running it myself, although the last time I ran a 1/2 marathon I swore I would never run another.

I'm going to make a decision VERY soon! Like today or tomorrow!

Back on the home front I am training to do the MS Bike to the Bay here in Delaware in September. I haven’t ridden this ride since Brian was in 3rd grade. That’s a long time! But I’ve gotten inspired by a lot of my younger friends that I see getting into fitness and I work with much younger people in my new job and many of them are really into fitness. Clearly, training for this event is much harder than it used to be. But I’m committed now.

I have a fund raising website set up on my Facebook page and thanks to some amazing people from the DIS community I have almost reached my goal of $300. If you are interested in donating and aren’t a FB friend please pm me for a link!

And THANK YOU to everyone who has opened their hearts and their wallets and contributed. You guys are AMAZING!

In my last update we had started our group AK day with the perfect trifecta - EE, Dinosaur, and Safari!

Of course, before show time we needed to do a little walking because who doesn’t want to see these guy?



I mean, come on, how cute IS he?



The gorillas sure have a great place to hang out.



Anyone have a caption for this picture?





I was disappointed I didn’t see Lilly.

“what'ch you looking at Willis?”





Was this Lilly (as a baby) or just some random mother/child?



I found some fish



A gorilla factoid



More scenery







Clearly SOMEONE was in a waterfall mood.



The next pictures I have our Tree of Life





With my cell. I really liked the way these turned out





I think our next stop must have been lunch.

Keeping with my theme of not taking good food pictures here’s all I got - a partially eaten veggie burger at Restaurantosaurus



I don’t remember exactly when I took this picture, but it was either on the way to eat or on the way to our post eat stop, Nemo.

Past the FP entrance



We actually got to the theatre early enough to get a seat closer to the front. This never happens to me. I am always one of the last ones in. But not today.

I decided that since I have SO many Nemo pictures it really wasn’t necessary to take a million more.

So I took about half the normal amount. I present to you the best of the “half the normal amount” of pictures I took.

Well, actually, this picture is not all that great, but I always get choked up at the beginning of Nemo. All those precious little eggs and Coral getting taken out in one fell swoop. It just seems …so…wrong…..



At the end of that sad scene there is but one egg left - our little Nemo




And in the blink of an eye Nemo is ready to go off to school



Oh Nemo I wouldn’t go out to the drop off if I were you.




Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

With Nemo out of the picture it’s time to meet Dory



Nah nah nah nah nah nah …..nah nah nah nah nah …… Wait - Why are YOU following me mister?




Fish are Friends, Not Food



Right, Bruce! Whatever you say!



Repeat after me - P Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney





Nemo’s new digs



Nigel



Gill



Coming up with a scheme



Directions to Sydney Harbor



Jellies



Dory watch out!!!!!



Oh No Dori. Oh No!



Just go with the flow-oh-OH






Wanna hock a luggie



Just keeping swimming. Just keep swimming.



A Happy Ending











Coming Up Next -

Show Time Part II