The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[pkondz]

It was well worth staying at BLT for that experience alone.

Some day.

But still smiling... what a trooper.

He’s incredible!

It was only at some of them. At the Snow White dinner, we had to line up for the Evil Queen. At CRT, obviously we met Cinderella on the way in. And then there was this one, where we had to line up for Pooh. I was under the impression that it's always been that way at WDW, at least for CRT, but it was something new to me.

I did know that about CRT. But it wasn’t that way last time I was at CP.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 7: In which we come to the savanna and DH nurses an injury

7.2. Horsing around at the fort​

Having said our goodbyes to MK, we headed to the dock for the boat to FW.



At that time of day, there was a bit of a wait, enough for a small crowd to gather. We were at the front of the line though, so made our way straight to the deck. I was headed for the front row, but Ben preferred the look of the shade.



It was fun to see all the resorts from the water.







I also loved going over the ‘water bridge’.



Approaching FW, I observed with interest the work being started on the new resort. I’ll be very interested to see how this turns out!





We were excited to arrive at our destination!





Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Who wants to guess the first thing I took a photo of???

…



We checked out the shop first, which actually had some fun merch! We spent a bit of time in there, and came away with a couple of t-shirts and a couple of drinks.



We had a specific point of interest for this visit.



The stable block was separated into public and non-accessible areas. There were several beautiful horses we could meet in the public area.







They were so beautiful, and reminded me so much of Violet (our beautiful wedding horse), I got a little bit emotional meeting them!

There were also a few interesting displays.







Then there was the non-accessible area.



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

We visited the cute ponies that were on standby for pony rides. The CM kindly brought one of them out to say hello. We didn’t really have great interactions with CMs here. They all seemed to be very focused on what they were doing and not really interested in engaging with us too much. It was a little disappointing as I would have loved to talk horses with them, but I also understand they had real work to do



The ponies were presented beautifully!



A couple of little girls came along for pony rides just as we were finishing up. I seem to have neglected to take any photos, but there was a little track just outside that they were led around (like a lazy river lol!). They seemed to be having a great time!

As we were watching the pony rides, this big handsome guy was brought out for a bath.



Having had my horsey fix, we headed to the nearby bus stop to continue our journey. First we were headed to the outpost. We enjoyed seeing more of the grounds along the way.



At the outpost, our next bus wasn’t far away. In the meantime, we enjoyed looking around. We observed the large amount of golf carts (and wondered what happens when the ‘carpark’ overflows!).



We looked longingly at the trail rides area, and briefly considered asking if we could join the group we could see gathering. We would have booked beforehand, but we wanted to keep our options open that day and weren’t sure on timing etc. We decided to stick with Plan A though, and soon we were on the bus to AK.



We’d really enjoyed looking around FW, but given the amount of time it took to get around, we were glad we hadn't decided to stay there.

 

[pkondz]

DH nurses an injury

Uh oh!

Ben preferred the look of the shade.

Ben is smart.

also loved going over the ‘water bridge’.

That’s such a cool thing isn’t it?

Who wants to guess the first thing I took a photo of???

We had a specific point of interest for this visit.

Oh cool! Don’t think I’ve ever seen photos from there.

They were so beautiful, and reminded me so much of Violet (our beautiful wedding horse), I got a little bit emotional meeting them!

Awww

There were also a few interesting displays.

I’d like to have read the calliope one.

The CM kindly brought one of them out to say hello.

That was nice of him.

We didn’t really have great interactions with CMs here. They all seemed to be very focused on what they were doing and not really interested in engaging with us too much.

I’m okay with that. Focus on the horses.

there was a little track just outside that they were led around (like a lazy river lol!). They seemed to be having a great time!

 

[zanzibar138]

That’s such a cool thing isn’t it?

Very cool!

I’m okay with that. Focus on the horses.

Mostly I would have liked to find out more about the horse getting a bath. The others had info plaques on their stables so we could see their name, age, breed etc. Back in the day, I was quite capable of bathing a horse and chatting at the same time, and the horse was behaving very nicely for her, but perhaps she had some other reason why she needed to concentrate a bit more. Or maybe she just didn't want to deal with nosy tourists that she probably needs to watch like a hawk in case they have zero horse sense and try to do something stupid

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 7: In which we come to the savanna and DH nurses an injury

7.3. All our animal friends​

We arrived at AK mid-afternoon and, as always, enjoyed the walk through to the ToL.



We were on a mission for this afternoon. We wanted to tick off our ‘must meet’ characters. First, my absolute favourite, Dug! It was about a 20 minute wait for him and Russel, and of course they went for a break just as we got to the start of the line I showed him and Russel a photo of Evie (our dog), and told them she was very disappointed that she couldn’t meet them too.





Just as we were leaving, Kevin came to join the fun too.



We hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, and were starting to get a little peckish, so decided to stop for snacks on the way to the next characters. I was super excited to find a Vietnamese Iced Coffee at Isle of Java! We sat on a nearby bit of wall and watched the activity as we enjoyed our snacks. After a few minutes, Kevin came back through too and joined the party for a while.



Next stop, DinoLand!



We saw a short line for someone (maybe Goofy?) outside Restaurantosauros, but kept going to the Cretaceous Trail. There were only a few people in line for Daisy, so we met her on the way in.



Then we made our way around to Chip N Dale. There was literally no one else there, making me wonder if people knew about this. Ever since I saw that this was a thing, it was on my must do list! How cute are they in their dinosaur onesies??? And as usual, they were heaps of fun. Chip was scared of the bees on my Pooh ears and was hiding behind the CM.





We lingered to watch these musicians on the way out.



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

The day was marching on, and the heat and crowds were getting a little intense.



But we still had more animal friends we wanted to see.



It was a much longer wait than we’d experienced previously, not helped at all by our safari vehicle breaking down just as it was coming into the loading area! They eventually did get it going, but it took a while for them to get it out of the way.



It really wasn’t the ideal time of day again to be attempting safari photography, but I managed to get a few reasonable shots.











We headed towards the exit, stopping here and there along the way. We didn’t have any luck spotting beavers or kangaroos (not that I really need to see kangaroos but it would have been fun to see them at the base of the ToL!). I’ve always been fascinated by flamingos though, so was quite happy to see a flock of them instead.



Soon enough, we were at the bus stop waiting for the next bus to AKL.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 7: In which we come to the savanna and DH nurses an injury

7.4. Into Africa​

We had to wait a while for the bus. It was pretty crowded, we didn’t get seats, and by the time we stopped at Kidani Lodge first, it turned out to be a decent length trip. It’s not so far that they couldn’t put a walking path in just to give people the option. I would have happily chosen to walk half an hour or perhaps more over taking the bus, and it wouldn’t have taken any longer lol!

Anyway, we did eventually arrive at Jambo House, and entered the magnificent lobby. We had both loved the vibe at Wilderness Lodge, and we loved it here too.



For some reason, I never did get room allocations come through on my MDE app, so we had to check in the old-fashioned way! It gave me a chance to check the pin boards, and I actually found an Ortensia pin I was keen to trade for! I had requested a room overlooking the Arusha Savanna, as I liked the look of the photos that had part of the lodge in the background too, plus the Arusha Savanna didn’t seem to have any ‘refuges’ (the fenced off areas I think are for evacuations), which I didn’t want in our view. We were given room 5523, which was about halfway along the Zebra Trail. Once again, there was no acknowledgement of our honeymoon, but we were very happy with the room. It turned out to be a really great location, away from the hustle and bustle but easy access to the restaurants/pool area via a lift that was only one block of rooms down from us. Plus of course the great view over the savanna. We were super excited to see zebras and giraffes as well as wildebeest and antelope. I'd really hoped to be slightly earlier so we could enjoy sundowners on the balcony, but we just caught the last of the fading light and had a dinner reservation to get to.











As we were standing there taking it all in, we noticed this poor little antelope who’d gotten itself lost! It seemed to be quite distressed, trying to make its way back to the herd.



I called down to the front desk to report it and they said they’d send a ranger to the rescue!

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

We actually really liked the room itself too. We thought the layout was the best, most practical use of space we’d seen yet (my only gripe was that my side of the bed didn’t have a side table). Plus, there was that nice bit of theming to it.





We checked in again on the antelope again before we left for dinner, and they all seemed to be happy so we assumed the ranger had been.

Then we headed downstairs for our reservation at Boma.



Boma was the only ‘normal’ restaurant I’d booked for the entire trip, but it seemed like a unique enough cuisine and ambience to be considered something special that we would only be able to do at WDW.

The food really was incredible! Definitely our favourite buffet. There was such a large variety, and everything we tried was amazing.





Dessert was equally impressive. I finally got to try bread pudding and zebra domes and now understand the hype. The bread pudding was sticky date flavour that nice, which was amazing!



As for the ambience, well that wasn’t exactly the best part of the dinner. We found it very noisy and chaotic. It may have been better if we’d been seated closer to the edge, but we’d been plonked right in the middle of the floor. It wasn’t exactly a romantic dinner, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

And of course, after we’d filled up on the buffet, we were presented with free cupcakes for our ‘anniversary’. This was probably the best perk we got. It was a smaller more manageable size, presented nicely, chocolate flavour (a fave for both of us), and because we were going straight back to our room, we were actually able to take them with us and eat them later!



We headed back to our room via the lobby, to see more of the wonderful theming.





It had been another quite big day, and we were both pleased to get back to the room for some much needed rest. And for the first time since we’d arrived at WDW, we went to bed not having anything specific planned for the following day!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 7: In which we come to the savanna and DH nurses an injury

7.5. Morning wanderings around AKL​

We woke to a rather foggy view of the savanna.



We could still make out some of the animals enjoying their breakfast.



Unfortunately, Ben’s ankle had decided to call it quits. It had been giving him a bit of grief throughout the trip, but it was serious this time! He could hardly bear any weight, and there was no chance of him going anywhere. I decided to do a solo exploration of the resort, promising to bring back breakfast and whatever medical supplies I could find for him.

I headed straight for the lobby.





Unfortunately, being a Saturday, there were no art tours or anything going, so I just wandered around admiring the pieces I could find.



I found several little cosy nooks and balconies with animal viewing opportunities.





Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

I was also keen to check out some of the outside areas. I started with the main viewing area off the back of the lobby. It was very quiet out there, without much animal activity, but I loved all the rockwork and landscaping, and it was fun to see if I could pick out our room.





I did spot this interesting looking bird on the way back to the lobby.



I walked back through the lobby to the gift shop, still looking for a last few minute things to buy! I only remember buying a t-shirt, but I do remember the total coming to over $100, so there must have been a few other things! That did also include a couple of medical things for Ben though, as well as a few snacks and drinks for the day.

After that, I headed back outside to the pool and restaurants area. I loved all the landscaping, and the pool looked particularly appealing with zero crowds at that time of the morning (I don’t think it was even open yet). It was fun to see the flamingos by the pool too!







Next stop was Mara which, in stark contrast to the pool area, was absolute chaos at that time of morning! I thought it was weird how some of the quick service locations operated differently to others. At the other resorts, we’d ordered and paid at the cashier, and then either waited for our food or had it brought to a table. Here, it seemed we were to pick up our food first, and then pay on the way out. There was a long and chaotic line. Some people seemed to know what they were doing, some (including me) didn’t. There were several areas where you could pick up food, and no signage that I could see, so I just assumed that you could go to any CM as they opened up, however it turned out that each one did a different type of food. Because I ordered a kids Mickey waffles as well as a savanna platter, I had to go to 2 separate people.



Eventually of course, I made it out with our breakfasts and my bag of stuff from the gift shop, and made my way back up to our room. We watched a movie while we ate, and then I spent a bit of time on the balcony catching up on Facebook and animal-watching. Ben joined me for a bit and we discussed the plan for the following day (which would be our final one at WDW ). I’d always kind of thought we’d finish up with fireworks at MK, but we’d seen MK fireworks so many times by then, we decided we wanted to finish with another viewing of F! instead! And so, the plan was set for us to head to HS the following day.

The fog was gone by then and there were lots of animals out and about.





Not sure what type of birds these were, but it was almost hypnotic watching them circle around.



Unfortunately, even with the medical supplies I’d picked up, Ben’s ankle wasn’t improving enough for him to go out. We decided to eat lunch together, and then I’d go to AK for a few hours.

After the morning’s experience, I decided to order our food online. We’d both very much enjoyed our breakfast, but I was disappointed to see that Mara didn’t offer anything that seemed remotely appealing for lunch. I ordered a burger and a flatbread and some fries, and figured I’d eat some of whatever looked most appealing, then headed down to pick it up. Of course, it was far more civilised at that time of day and I could have quite easily just ordered there. Unfortunately neither the flatbread nor the burger looked that appealing. I had a little bit of the flatbread, but mostly just ate the fries.

After making sure Ben was comfy and had what he needed, I headed out again to catch the bus to AK.

 

[pkondz]

Or maybe she just didn't want to deal with nosy tourists that she probably needs to watch like a hawk in case they have zero horse sense and try to do something stupid

I’d guess that was the case. Talk to one tourist ya gotta talk to them all.

First, my absolute favourite, Dug! It was about a 20 minute wait for him and Russel, and of course they went for a break just as we got to the start of the line

Just as we were leaving, Kevin came to join the fun too.

She’s so fun!

Then we made our way around to Chip N Dale. There was literally no one else there, making me wonder if people knew about this.

Huh. Maybe? No idea!

Chip was scared of the bees on my Pooh ears and was hiding behind the CM.

The day was marching on, and the heat and crowds were getting a little intense.

It tends to do that.

It was a much longer wait than we’d experienced previously, not helped at all by our safari vehicle breaking down just as it was coming into the loading area!

Oh wow. Never seen that happen.

We didn’t have any luck spotting beavers or kangaroos (not that I really need to see kangaroos

And I don’t need to see beavers!

We had to wait a while for the bus. It was pretty crowded, we didn’t get seats, and by the time we stopped at Kidani Lodge first, it turned out to be a decent length trip. It’s not so far that they couldn’t put a walking path in just to give people the option.

Yes!
I mean there’s a path from Boardwalk/Epcot to DHS… why not here?

Anyway, we did eventually arrive at Jambo House, and entered the magnificent lobby.

Isn’t it stunning??

As we were standing there taking it all in, we noticed this poor little antelope who’d gotten itself lost! It seemed to be quite distressed, trying to make its way back to the herd.

Awww

called down to the front desk to report it and they said they’d send a ranger to the rescue!

Zanzibar to the rescue!

We checked in again on the antelope again before we left for dinner, and they all seemed to be happy so we assumed the ranger had been.

Well… the lions were happy…


And full…

The food really was incredible! Definitely our favourite buffet. There was such a large variety, and everything we tried was amazing.

I need to get back there.

Dessert was equally impressive. I finally got to try bread pudding and zebra domes and now understand the hype.

Weren’t they amazing?????

As for the ambience, well that wasn’t exactly the best part of the dinner. We found it very noisy and chaotic.

Yeah…
I guess that’s typical for a buffet.

We woke to a rather foggy view of the savanna.

I kinda like that.

Unfortunately, Ben’s ankle had decided to call it quits. It had been giving him a bit of grief throughout the trip, but it was serious this time! He could hardly bear any weight,

Oh no.

Here, it seemed we were to pick up our food first, and then pay on the way out.

That’s what I am more used to at WDW.

 

[zanzibar138]

And I don’t need to see beavers!

I mean there’s a path from Boardwalk/Epcot to DHS… why not here?

Isn’t it stunning??

Beautiful! It certainly lessened the disappointment of not getting to stay at WL.

Zanzibar to the rescue!

I'm a 90's kid... as I typed 'ranger to the rescue' I was envisioning this!

Well… the lions were happy…

Weren’t they amazing?????

Delicious! And even Ben liked the zebra domes! He's pretty fussy when it comes to desserts, has pretty simple tastes.

 

[pkondz]

I'm a 90's kid... as I typed 'ranger to the rescue' I was envisioning this!

That works.

Delicious! And even Ben liked the zebra domes! He's pretty fussy when it comes to desserts, has pretty simple tastes.

I’m not sure it’s possible not to like them.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 7: In which we come to the savanna and DH nurses an injury

7.6. Solo adventure at AK​

It was early afternoon by the time I headed down to the bus stop, so it was pretty quiet at that time of the day, and I was lucky that a bus just arrived as I got there (behind the HS one lol!). The driver said he was pretty early, so he’d give it 5 minutes. Only another couple of people arrived within that time, and then we were off to AK!



Being a Saturday, I wasn’t expecting it to be quiet at AK, and thought I’d mostly just enjoy wandering around and taking photos. I started by taking the path into the park and lingering at the animal exhibits.



We hadn’t really considered stopping at the ducks before because… well, we’ve all seen a duck right? But these ones were kind of cool.



I also managed to just catch the anteater.



I briefly stopped in at the flamingos next, but somehow never thought to head any further into the ToL gardens. Wish I’d thought of it at the time!



I hadn’t had much luck with the otters yet, so I headed straight there. Success! There were several out and about, and they were very busy! There was a bit of a crowd there, but with some patience and my camera’s incredible zoom, I was able to get a couple of decent photos.



I decided to quickly check out the shop next, and checked out the trader pins.



I decided to try my luck with another set of the mystery fan pins, which I thought I’d open when I got back to the room so Ben could join the fun too.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Time was ticking away, as it does. I know the usual thing is that everyone wants to see Pandora at night, but I actually found it too dark, and really wanted to see more of the magnificent landscaping I knew was in there! So of course, that’s where I headed next. The wait times were horrendous in there, and there was absolutely zero chance of me getting in line for an attraction, but I enjoyed my wander, taking in all the detail I couldn’t see in the dark, and trying to find all the best angles.









I also checked out the shop there, and thought about grabbing a snack, but there was nothing that looked that appealing. Instead, I headed down a new path to Africa. Loved how peaceful this area was.



I wandered through Africa, admiring the theming and in search of some sort of refreshment.



I found the nearby Starbucks and got some sort of super sweet flavoured iced beverage. Was exactly what I needed! I found another little peaceful area under the ToL to enjoy my drink, and just happened to stumble across the giant tortoises as they were being put to bed.







As it was getting later, I decided to check the wait times and see if anything was starting to look reasonable. Surprisingly, the safari was looking semi-reasonable, so I headed over there. Sadly, it turned out to be not as reasonable as I expected – I probably waited about 45 minutes. I was seated in the back row though which I thought was great as it gave me a clear view out the back!



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Once again, I’d found myself riding right before sunset, but managed to get a few decent photos.









It turned out to be a bit of a long safari on this occasion. There was a bit of a hold up waiting for that bull in the above photo. Then we got held up again just next to the cheetahs. Just as we were waiting there, one of them came out to do a perimeter check around the pen. Then the other one came out and very kindly sat to pose under a tree. Perfect! I must have taken 100 photos in the time we were there lol!



By the time we made it back, it was starting to get quite late.



I’d actually planned to head back to the resort around sunset, but I wasn’t quite done yet. I picked up an order of potstickers on the way through to keep me going, and headed on towards EE. The wait time had just ticked down to 30 minutes, which was pretty much my limit.



By the time I was done there, the wait time for Dinosaur was down to 10 minutes, so I hurried on over thinking I’d just do it quickly one last time on the way out.



It was indeed a walk-on, and I made it through the queue and the pre-show very quickly.



However, when we were just going down the steps to the loading area, it broke down. The lights came on, and they were evacuating people who were already on the ride. They did invite us to wait it out, but I decided to call it. I wasn’t that devastated at the thought of not riding it again.

I was a little bit devastated at the thought of not riding EE again though, and wasn’t sure if I’d get another opportunity. So I headed back for one last ride. After my experience with the SR line for RNR, I was a little hesitant to utilise any more of them, but I decided to give it a go this time around. The standby line was still hovering around 30 minutes, but I probably only waited 15 or maybe 20, so it was worth it.

It was actually pretty close to park closing by the time I was done. I had been planning to get some dinner on the way out, but had left it too late – oops! Lucky I’d had my potstickers!

It was another crowded and chaotic bus ride back to AKL. I stopped by Mara on the way back to get some drinks and snacks to take back to the room. I think I just got a yoghurt for dinner since there was nothing else really appealing. But I did also get a pack of zebra domes for us to share. We caught up on each other’s days and opened the mystery pin pack to find… wait for it… another 2 of the exact same pins! So we now had 3 x Minnie and 3 x Pluto. And with that, we called it a night lol!