The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[pkondz]

Yes, absolutely should have gone during the day first. I think it would have been more comfortable to visit at night if I wasn't trying to find my way around as well.

This is a good tip for first-timers. Need to remember that.

I always find when I'm told things like that it always goes in one ear and out the other, no matter how interesting I find it lol!

Me too!

Yeah, that experience with RnR really scarred me for the rest of the trip!

I get that.

 

[zanzibar138]

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

7.7. The final farewell begins​

This morning we were headed to Tusker House for a final farewell breakfast. Once again, I’d booked us a late slot, thinking that we could either enjoy a couple of rides before breakfast or sleep in. And once again, we chose to sleep in Luckily Ben’s ankle had improved enough for us to stick with the plan for the day!

We arrived at a rather busy AK at about 9:30am and made our way directly to Tusker House. There was a very large queue right out the front of the building, which caused Ben great concern, thinking that it was the line to get in… turned out it was the line for the safari, which apparently spills way out of its queue area at that time of day! We snuck through, checked in, and were called to be seated almost immediately. We were led through to one of the beautifully themed back rooms, overlooking the safari queue lol!



For such an occasion, we decided to splurge on mimosas. Just as we’d finished ordering, Mickey and the gang put on a little dance party.



I absolutely loved the theming in the buffet area, and there was such a great variety of foods to choose from. I was rather boring and mostly stuck to the tried and true favourites, but did decide to mix it up with a Simba waffle instead of Mickey. Nothing beats a Mickey waffle.





Most of the characters came around in fairly quick succession, and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting them all in their cute safari outfits.







It took a little while for Daisy to come out, so we took the opportunity to get dessert. I can’t remember what flavour the bread pudding was here, but it wasn’t nearly as nice as the one I’d tried at Boma. We both enjoyed some more zebra domes though! Eventually Daisy came to visit.





Ben managed to get in a quick dance before she moved on.



We’d really enjoyed the whole experience, would definitely recommend it as a fun and kind of different character meal.

 

[pkondz]

This morning we were headed to Tusker House for a final farewell breakfast.

Never been. Know many have.

Luckily Ben’s ankle had improved enough for us to stick with the plan for the day!

Good!

turned out it was the line for the safari, which apparently spills way out of its queue area at that time of day!

Really!

Then again... having never been, I'm not entirely sure where it is!
(Digs out AK map...)
Ah! Right beside Dawa. Long line!!

We were led through to one of the beautifully themed back rooms, overlooking the safari queue lol!

decide to mix it up with a Simba waffle instead of Mickey. Nothing beats a Mickey waffle.

Presume it's the same mix, but different shape.

I can’t remember what flavour the bread pudding was here, but it wasn’t nearly as nice as the one I’d tried at Boma.

Again... I've never been, but I have had the bread pudding from Boma and that is amazing.

We both enjoyed some more zebra domes though!

mmmmmm....

Fun pic.

 

[zanzibar138]

Presume it's the same mix, but different shape.

One would assume so, but somehow it just didn't taste the same!

 

[zanzibar138]

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

7.8. Farewell to AK​

We knew we were starting the day with Tusker House and finishing with Fantasmic!, but we’d left the middle fairly flexi so we could do what we wanted with our final day. Unfortunately the wait times were all pretty long by the time we finished breakfast, but there was one part of the park I hadn’t seen yet and couldn’t leave without a quick visit… Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

We made our way to the station, enjoying the African theming as we went.



There was already a fairly large crowd at the station, and the train wasn’t far away. We made our way to the end carriage and somehow still managed to end up with front row seats.



We always enjoy a scenic train ride, however this one started off without much to see. It got way more interesting though as we passed the backstage area for AK – I thought that part was a lot of fun!







We arrived at Conservation Station and followed the herd to the main area. I was surprised how far the walk was from the station and started to think maybe it hadn’t been the best idea with Ben’s ankle still pretty fragile!





We considered doing the animation class, which I think Ben would have enjoyed. He was keen to get to HS though, so didn’t want to spend a lot of time there. Instead, we just wandered around the animal care and reptile/amphibian displays. I really love that they’ve got this area for awareness and for people who want to learn more about animal care at AK. We both enjoyed our short walk-through. I was excited to find a hidden Mickey!





Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

As an Aussie, I have a healthy respect for snakes, but I do think they’re beautiful animals. We had a bit of a chat with one of the CMs near the reptile exhibit, which as usual I found very interesting at the time, but now can’t even remember what type of snake it was



We also enjoyed seeing the other animals in the area. The turtles and especially the frogs were teeny tiny – I really should have taken a more zoomed out photo as well for scale.







The operating theatre was also very interesting.



We weren’t really interested in the petting zoo part so, having satisfied my curiosity, we headed back to the station. The walk back was far more pleasant without a wave of people to deal with!





It was a bit of a wait for the train, with a bit of a crowd having built again by the time it arrived. We found seats in a pretty similar spot to what we had on the way in.



I’d assumed we’d go back the way we came, but it was a different way that didn’t really have much to see. There were a few cute details close to the end, but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

I did one last check of wait times again when we arrived at the station, just in case anything was miraculously under 30 minutes, but of course right in the middle of the day, on a weekend, with the national cheerleading competition on, there was little hope of that! I was pleased I’d gotten a couple of last rides on EE the night before.

As we made our way to the exit, we stopped at the otters one last time since Ben hadn’t seen them yet. Success! There was one having a grand old time swimming around.





We stopped for another quick look in the shops on the way out, and the pin boards. I now had 2 x fan Pluto and 2 x fan Minnie to trade, but wasn't having much luck finding anything I wanted.

We stopped for a couple of last photos at the entrance, including another magic shot (assume this one was for Valentine's Day, which was the following weekend) Ben didn’t quite get lol!





It was a bit of a wait for the bus to HS, and we took the opportunity to admire some of the designs.



By the time the bus arrived, there was quite a crowd waiting, and it ended up being a rather full bus for the journey to HS.

 

[pkondz]

We always enjoy a scenic train ride, however this one started off without much to see. It got way more interesting though as we passed the backstage area for AK – I thought that part was a lot of fun!

I agree the train ride itself doesn't have much to see for a bit, but... it's relaxing in and of itself.

I was curious, so Googled...
Tembo is Swahili for elephant.

We arrived at Conservation Station and followed the herd to the main area.

I see what you did there.

We considered doing the animation class, which I think Ben would have enjoyed. He was keen to get to HS though, so didn’t want to spend a lot of time there.

Too bad. The animation class is a fan fave.

As an Aussie, I have a healthy respect for snakes

As a Canadian... who has never seen a venomous or even a large snake in Canada... I have a healthy respect for them!

now can’t even remember what type of snake it was

Oh, I can help you there. I'm something of an expert.

It's a slithery kind.


You're welcome.

Cool colour!

I did one last check of wait times again when we arrived at the station, just in case anything was miraculously under 30 minutes, but of course right in the middle of the day, on a weekend, with the national cheerleading competition on, there was little hope of that

Yikes. Three strikes and you're out!

Good shot!

"I don't get it. Am I supposed to read your palm?"

 

[zanzibar138]

I agree the train ride itself doesn't have much to see for a bit, but... it's relaxing in and of itself.

Yes, not everything has to be an assault on the senses!

I was curious, so Googled...
Tembo is Swahili for elephant.

Good find!

Too bad. The animation class is a fan fave.

I was disappointed to have missed it. With 2 solid weeks at WDW, I was pretty surprised at all the stuff we still missed! Have no idea how people feel like they've had a satisfying visit after just 4-5 days or even less!

Oh, I can help you there. I'm something of an expert.

It's a slithery kind.


You're welcome.

Now, where would I be without your helpful insight?

Cool colour!

I do remember there also being an orange coloured variety (with the same type of spots), but I didn't get any photos so now can't remember if that was at WDW or somewhere else!

Good shot!

Thanks, I thought that was a cute one

"I don't get it. Am I supposed to read your palm?"

 

[pkondz]

Yes, not everything has to be an assault on the senses!

I like a little salt on my senses.

I was disappointed to have missed it. With 2 solid weeks at WDW, I was pretty surprised at all the stuff we still missed! Have no idea how people feel like they've had a satisfying visit after just 4-5 days or even less!

Rope drop to park close.

 

[Steppesister]

but it wasn’t nearly as nice as the one I’d tried at Boma.

I wonder if the one you had in Boma was the cardamom-spiced one.?

We’d really enjoyed the whole experience, would definitely recommend it as a fun and kind of different character meal.

I steer clear of character meals in general (and buffets) but I do love the theming in there. Wish they had an option for menu ordering.

Huh, the World's Guest House.

We always enjoy a scenic train ride, however this one started off without much to see.

Mhm, a slow start, I'd agree.

We arrived at Conservation Station and followed the herd to the main area. I was surprised how far the walk was from the station

It is a bit of a hike. The little like it because there are a few Explorer Stations to hit along the way.

We considered doing the animation class, which I think Ben would have enjoyed. He was keen to get to HS though, so didn’t want to spend a lot of time there. Instead, we just wandered around the animal care and reptile/amphibian displays. I really love that they’ve got this area for awareness and for people who want to learn more about animal care at AK. We both enjoyed our short walk-through. I was excited to find a hidden Mickey!

Well poop, it's so much fun and a free souvenir. But you're right, there's a lot to see in there too.

The operating theatre was also very interesting.

My FAVE!!! Always a cool treat when something is going on in there.

The walk back was far more pleasant without a wave of people to deal with!

For sure! And I've seen some really pretty birds on that trail when it's quiet.

There were a few cute details close to the end, but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera.

Yes, there is a little Indonesian? style village but I am NEVER fast enough with my camera and have only a few so-so photos of it.

 

[zanzibar138]

I wonder if the one you had in Boma was the cardamom-spiced one.?

It was a sticky date flavour - one of my faves so that probably helped!

It is a bit of a hike. The little like it because there are a few Explorer Stations to hit along the way.

There were so many people on the way in, we didn't really have a chance to look too much around - just had to keep moving with the wave.

For sure! And I've seen some really pretty birds on that trail when it's quiet.

Ooh that would be nice too!

 

[zanzibar138]

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

7.9. Final take at HS​

We made it to HS early in the afternoon. Our plan was to tick off all the remaining shows that we’d missed on previous visits and re-ride some of our faves. We arrived right in time for the 2pm BATB show. We weren’t within the first wave of people, but managed to snag some pretty good seats in the side section, right on the aisle. I knew it would be a highly condensed version of course, but it was a fun little show and we were pleased we got to see it.







Next on the list was One Man’s Dream.



We spent quite a while checking out the displays. We were nearly done when they announced the movie would be starting, so we decided to just go ahead and finish off. May be unpopular opinion, but this was actually a highlight for us. If I’d realised Ben was so interested in Disney history, I would have made more of an effort to book a Keys to the Kingdom tour! Didn’t hurt that it was a nice quiet, cool place to spend a bit of time too.





We were at a bit of a loss for what to do next. The next Indiana Jones show wasn’t on for a while, but wait times were too long to try to squeeze in one of the popular attractions, and we didn’t want to stray too far from the general area. We decided to check out the Star Wars Launch Bay. It was another nice quiet area, but we got a bit confused trying to find where the attractions were lol! We eventually discovered the meet and greets, which had surprisingly low wait times posted. We waited less than 5 minutes to meet BB-8.



It was a slightly longer wait for Chewy, and behind us a small child was wreaking havoc in the line, so it was also kind of a tedious wait! Still only 15-20 minutes though which we thought was pretty good. For someone who’s never been a Star Wars nut, this turned out to be one of my favourite character experiences, and one of my favourite photos from the trip too!



By the time we were done with Chewy, Darth Vader was taking a break, so we just wandered around checking out some of the random displays before moving on.



It was another surprisingly enjoyable experience.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

It was time to make our way to the Indiana Jones show. I enjoyed spotting some detail on the way through.





We were seated fairly far back and slightly to the side, but still got a reasonable view. While I thought the show was showing its age, I still found it for the most part fairly enjoyable. Ben really disliked it and thought it had been a huge waste of time.







The park was still pretty busy with long wait times, and it was quite the warm day, so we decided to re-watch a couple of our fave short movies. We started with the fun Mickey short since that was close, and followed that up with a final farewell viewing of the Muppets.



We would have loved to check out the Muppets merch, but of course all the shops in the area were closed. The whole space was pretty dead really which was a bit sad. It was late in the afternoon by then, so we were starting to get a bit hungry and decided to share a meal at PizzeRizzo.



It turned out to be our last meal at WDW - not exactly going out with a bang, but it did the job!

 

[pkondz]

Our plan was to tick off all the remaining shows

Why? What did the shows do to you?

(Not sure if you'll get that comment...)

I knew it would be a highly condensed version of course

Condensed... from the movie? Or from the usual show length?

May be unpopular opinion, but this was actually a highlight for us.

Not an unpopular opinion, I don't think.

If I’d realised Ben was so interested in Disney history, I would have made more of an effort to book a Keys to the Kingdom tour!

Next time.

We waited less than 5 minutes to meet BB-8.

It was a slightly longer wait for Chewy

Not surprising. I'm betting he's one of the most popular Star Wars characters.

and behind us a small child was wreaking havoc in the line

oh dear.

For someone who’s never been a Star Wars nut, this turned out to be one of my favourite character experiences, and one of my favourite photos from the trip too!

Why? What made it so memorable?

Ben really disliked it and thought it had been a huge waste of time.

I'm a bit surprised by that. I enjoy the show, although I don't see it every time.

a final farewell viewing of the Muppets.

Sad...

It turned out to be our last meal at WDW - not exactly going out with a bang, but it did the job!

Not going out with a bang, indeed!

 

[zanzibar138]

Why? What did the shows do to you?

(Not sure if you'll get that comment...)

Yep, I get it

Condensed... from the movie? Or from the usual show length?

From the movie. 20 minutes didn't seem like it would be enough time for much, and it wasn't. Pretty much just the main songs strung together.

Why? What made it so memorable?

I'm actually not sure lol! Chewy was a real gentleman though, and he was very excited when he found out it was our honeymoon.

I'm a bit surprised by that. I enjoy the show, although I don't see it every time.

I was constantly surprised by what Ben did and didn't enjoy lol!

Sad...

 

[pkondz]

Chewy was a real gentleman though, and he was very excited when he found out it was our honeymoon.

Ah!

I was constantly surprised by what Ben did and didn't enjoy lol!

Kept you on your toes.

 

[Steppesister]

It was a sticky date flavour - one of my faves so that probably helped!

Oh wow, YUM!

There were so many people on the way in, we didn't really have a chance to look too much around - just had to keep moving with the wave.

Yeah, totally get that- the entrances are always so clogged up.

May be unpopular opinion, but this was actually a highlight for us.

Of all the dozens of times I've been to WDW, I've never bothered to watch this show. Need to!!

We would have loved to check out the Muppets merch, but of course all the shops in the area were closed. The whole space was pretty dead really which was a bit sad.

A long, painful death. I'll miss the vibrancy of this area, but miss the Streets of America even more.

 

[zanzibar138]

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

7.10. A Fantasmic finale​

As we were finishing up our pizza, I checked the wait times and was surprised to see Smuggler’s Run down to 15 minutes! I was still concerned about potential motion sickness, but we decided it was worth a try, so we hustled over to Galaxy’s Edge.



By the time we arrived, the wait time had gone up to 20 minutes, but we were still happy to wait.



The wait time was just about the perfect balance to enjoy the highly detailed, interesting queue while still not being too much of a time drag!







There had been a noticeable increase in the number of cheerleading groups and teenage girls in general in the parks over the final couple of days, and this queue was no exception. We were called forward to be assigned our roles for the ride. Ben and I were made pilots. At that point, the two teenage girls in line behind us cracked it, made a big fuss that they wanted to be pilots and sulked until they got their way. There was some confusion as the very patient CMs struggled to accommodate them. I would actually have preferred not to be a pilot, and I don’t think Ben really cared, and if the girls had just asked nicely about it, we would have offered to swap. Since they made a big scene and got all sulky about it, there was no way I was going to offer (even though it probably would have helped the CMs). I assumed that they would just be held aside until the next ride and others would be brought forward to fill the other roles, but was surprised to find Ben and I being led to our own private ride vehicle instead lol!



Turned out it was for the best, because it turned out that Ben and I were absolutely terrible pilots, and I’m sure anyone else on the ride with us would have gotten super frustrated with us! Even Ben was getting a little frustrated and started having a go at me to steer better… turned out he’d forgotten he was the one controlling the side to side and I was just doing up and down Without the pressure of having anyone else with us, it was still a lot of fun. There were a few moments where I felt some uncomfortable sensations, but mostly having ‘control’ of the vehicle helped immensely with the motion sickness, like driving a car instead of being a passenger. We were glad we’d decided to give it a go. I was even impressed with the theming in the exit!



By the time we were finished, wait times were actually down all over the park. We figured it must have been people leaving to watch the Superbowl. We discussed the possibility of re-doing some of our favourite rides, but Ben’s ankle was really starting to give him grief, so I suggested we grab a drink somewhere nearby, and headed back towards the restaurants and shops we’d seen on the way in.



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

We ended up heading to Docking Bay 7, and got slightly distracted along the way by the Photopass photographer just outside.





It was eerily quiet inside the restaurant, and we had ample opportunity to take in the theming and take our time deciding what to order.



As well as drinks, we ordered a mousse dessert to share. It was very photogenic, but I wasn’t entirely convinced on the flavour combination. Ben, who is normally very fussy and only likes the plainest desserts, actually quite enjoyed it.



It was still quite hot, so initially Ben wanted to sit inside. The air-con was intense in there, and after a while even Ben was getting uncomfortably cold. By that time, it was starting to cool down a little outside, so we enjoyed another round of drinks taking in the last of the sunset from the patio.



As darkness closed in, we thought we’d better start making our way to the F! area. We had some shopping to do on the way! I had finally decided on a hoodie I wanted to buy. It was a brand new F! design that only came out halfway through our trip. Navy (always a good colour for me), with Walt Disney World across the arms and back in big retro font and a big Sorcerer Mickey on the back. It was the one and I was super excited to get one!


(Image borrowed from the internet)

I’d seen those hoodies everywhere the last few days, so we just stopped at some of the clothing shops on the way through. Now, most of you would probably be aware that special new merch tends to sell out quickly, however, we hadn't really considered it. And now, nowhere seemed to have any left, only kids sizes! I searched for an alternative style, but since I’d decided that was the one, nothing else would do! We were told they'd been selling very quickly, and our best bet would be to check the Emporium at MK. We then had a dilemma. Do we spend our final night at WDW chasing the elusive hoodie? Or do we enjoy our planned F! viewing, knowing that we could miss out? We decided to stick with F! and made our way to the show area. We got there probably 45 minutes before the show and got decent seats pretty close to the centre (but of course I had the tallest guy in the park sitting right in front of me ). Pretty sure it was the first section after the premium seating.

News of the hoodie being sold out was a definite downer. I was trying so hard to let it go and enjoy our final experience at the parks. Ben could see how devastated I was, and offered me a solution, that we could rush off after the show and grab a Minnie Van straight to MK to check for hoodies there. I didn’t love that idea either, but it seemed to be the best compromise so we made plans to do that.

I had decided to just enjoy the show this time around and not bother with too many photos. I just took a couple of iconic moments. Once the show started, it proved to be a great distraction, and I was able to temporarily forget about the hoodie and just enjoy the magic!





Immediately after the show we leapt to our feet for our dash to the exit. Our seats had been good for the show, but unfortunately weren’t that great for making a quick escape! We rushed as much as we could, not lingering at the building projection show this time around. As we rushed past Mickey’s of Hollywood, I suddenly remembered seeing that as the originally advertised location to purchase the new F! range, and thought it might be worth a quick detour to check it out. And there, in the corner, was a small stash of adult sizes in the F! range! The smallest we could find was a small, which was a little oversized on me… still, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity! Ben also decided to get one since they had his size available, and he got one of the t-shirts too. With hoodies in hand, I was able to relax and look around the shop to see if there was anything else that caught my eye. Low and behold, there in front of me was a 2025 WDW hoodie that was also calling my name.

We finalised our purchases at Mickey’s, and then headed across the road. We ended up buying a few packets of shortbread biscuits as gifts for people back home, and a couple of snacks for ourselves for the journey home. Then, with a heavy heart, we headed towards the exit.

The entrance area was an absolute mad house! Apparently, there was some sort of after hours party for the cheerleaders. They must have had to wait until the park had officially closed before they were allowed in. There was a steady stream of people coming from the buses and the transport drop-off points, and a few CMs dotted around reminding people of the rules for the event – ‘no running, no stunting’. Took us a while to figure out what they were saying, but it made sense when we thought about it lol!



As we made our way to the bus stop, we noticed the EPCOT fireworks going off over the lake, so we lingered for a few minutes to enjoy one last magic moment.



Sadly, the bus was crowded and noisy, and we had to stand – not the most wonderful way to finish off such a magical stay. Still, it wasn’t too long before we were back at AKL. We headed to the gift shop on the way through, as there were a couple of last minute things I wanted to get there. I’d been eyeing off the Disney Conservation Fund coffee table book in the room, and had decided it would be a worthy splurge. We were also very keen to get an AKL pin, which I hadn’t been able to find yet! When we asked the CM, he informed us that they were unfortunately sold out, and were expecting the next delivery in the next day or 2. Too bad! Instead, we decided to give the mystery pin pack one last try!

Back up at our room, we lingered on the balcony for a bit, knowing we would likely be too rushed in the morning. We opened our mystery pin pack to reveal… 2 new pins! Hoo-bloody-ray for that! We got a Donald and a Pluto to go with our Minnie and Dale. And in the meantime, I’d managed to trade the duplicates (and a couple of other traders I’d taken) and ended up with the Ortensia pin, a cute Chip pin, Route 66 with Mickey ears, Donald as a rubber ducky, Figaro and Maximus.

We spent a while packing since our luggage would have to survive 2 flights and a long layover, set an alarm for ridiculous o’clock, and finally hit the hay for the last time at WDW.