These Kids Make Me Wish You Could Curse on the DISBoards (May '11 Trip) - DONE 9/14

[Mrs. Sojourner]

I'm really enjoying your trip report so far; can't wait to read the rest!

 

[crazycatlady]

I love your trip reports! I just got done reading your 2010 report. I had to read parts aloud to my family because they were so funny.

BTW, DH, DS16 and I are all Iron Maiden fans, also. In fact, The Wicker Man was DS's favorite song when he was about 4 or 5 years old and was the 1st non-Barney, Elmo, etc. cd he owned. His father was very proud.

On the other hand, we are HUGE Packer fans.....

 

[WannaBeADisMom]

So you DID get back to the world!! Loved last year's TR (in fact stayed with my family at CSR last fall partly because of your TR) and found this one through MEK via Podsnel's.... (and so it goes). All caught up and lovin' every word of it. Hey, our trips must have overlapped by a couple days. DISmoms were there 5/13-5/17...So if you saw six crazy women without kids or husbands, loving life and wearing tiaras ALL THE TIME, that was us!

 

[RobDIS]

Really nice manhole hidden Mickey! I'll have to try finding some next trip. The only time we remembered to look for one last trip was pre-show at the Nemo musical.

Love that Emily conquered EE. That is one I'm too to ride.

 

[nilla]

I'm afraid the safari will never be the same for me after we did the trek last month.

Now you're just trying to make me jealous.

Hey Christine looks like you and I will have to find those Hello Kitty press on nails in October

I don't know if they have them in adult sizes. I think we used them last year to bribe Emily into riding Splash Mountain one more time, so they're multi-purpose for us!

We've never seen Flights of Wonder (or Finding Nemo for that matter).

We love both. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed FOW.

I've yet to see the kids misbehave.

I'm hearing that from people in both the physical and online world, so maybe I've been too nice to these kids in this TR so far. I will be sure to correct that!

But you much elaborate on almost getting impaled.

We looked for her every year since we learned of her existence, and last year, we actually saw her up by the trees. Kristin was snapping pics, while I was pushing our double stroller, I believe with Emily in it. It's long, so it doesn't maneuver well in crowds. We were on the path between Africa and Asia, and you all know how that is, but when you add a 12-foot tall half woman, half plant high-stepping around, it's a lot more difficult to say, "excuse me", and have people actually move. So I am about to move to the side of the walkway, when I see DeVine coming toward us. There I am, frantically trying to turn the stroller and get out of the way, while watching these two giant clomping toward us. I look up, and DeVine is starting right at me, fully aware that I am there, but certainly not showing any signs of bailing out of this game of Animal Kingdom chicken. I finally get the thing turned and shove it out of the way, somehow not taking out any other guests in the process. DeVine walked by, back up into the trees. I really don't know what would've happened had I not moved, but I was NOT taking any chances!

I'm telling you, though, that image of DeVine coming towards me will never leave my mind. It was truly horrifying, though I think I like her that much more because of it

I'm really enjoying your trip report so far; can't wait to read the rest!

BTW, DH, DS16 and I are all Iron Maiden fans, also. In fact, The Wicker Man was DS's favorite song when he was about 4 or 5 years old and was the 1st non-Barney, Elmo, etc. cd he owned. His father was very proud.

On the other hand, we are HUGE Packer fans.....

Nobody's perfect, eh?

Of course, it's probably much more fun being a Packers fan recently than backing the Purple

BIG THUMBS UP on the Maiden love! I think Wicker Man was the first song Dylan liked, too. I took him to see them last August. Kristin was supposed to go, but got sick and asked if I would take him instead. I was hesitant at first, because he had a history of not liking loud things, but he LOVED it. He wants to go again. It was cool because not only was it his first "adult" concert (i.e., not the Wiggles), but they were also my first "adult" concert, back in 1987. Here's hoping they tour forever!

DISmoms were there 5/13-5/17...So if you saw six crazy women without kids or husbands, loving life and wearing tiaras ALL THE TIME, that was us!

Hmmmm, not sure. Did you have lime green Mickeys? Because if you did, I definitely did NOT see you. More on that later

Really nice manhole hidden Mickey! I'll have to try finding some next trip.

It's fun finding them, and the kids love it. Of course, they could see the actual character and claim they saw a "hidden Mickey"!



There will DEFINITELY be an update tonight. Two days without one is unacceptable. Thanks for sticking with us!

 

[4forWDW]

Thanks for writing this TR - it is very entertaining
As for your comment about being too nice to the kids in your TR - it just makes me really apprehensive about what they are going to do that will make you want to curse. I keep thinking - uh oh, what/when is it going to happen --haha!
I love CSR. I took my DS & DD on a trip one year close to Christmas. My DH didn't have any vacation days left - so it was just us. The travel agent could get me a good rate at CSR. So of course, I took it. At first, I didn't think I would like it. I kept picturing a lot of terra cotta and dry areas. It was decorated for the holidays and was just absolutely beautiful. The next time all of us went, and stayed in a moderate, we choose it. I couldn't wait for my DH to see it. Your pictures are terrific.
Can't wait to read more!
Amy

 

[Holly324]

Looking forward to the rest of the trip report. I am usually just a lurker, but I had to comment, because we were there around the same time you were. Checking out your pics for my family! You never know!!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Still enjoying your patter, it's as funny as your first TR.

We have stayed at CSR twice, but I wanted my DIL to stay somewhere different. I do love CBR as well as CPR.

Doris

 

[nilla]

I love CSR.

I can't imagine staying anywhere else. Although we are starting to put the DVC wheels in motion...

Checking out your pics for my family!

I've done that a little for others who were there at the same time as us, but so far, have not found any. saraheeyone commented earlier that she saw us and recognized us from my last TR, which was beyond cool. She recognized Dylan first, so I told him he's now a trans-Atlantic celebrity

I do love CBR as well as CPR.

Our planning last year started with the CBR vs. CSR debate. It was KatMark and FlightlessDuck who eventually swayed us toward CSR. We could try CBR in the future - who can say?


Alright, and now...UPDATES!

 

[nilla]

Since we're in Animal Kingdom, we can't decide where to eat. There's no one place that is really a can't miss in our eyes, so it's tough to make a decision. While we're waffling, why not snap a picture of our surroundings?

That's nice. Hey, wait - isn't that...the Flame Tree? As in the Flame Tree which is the only counter service restaurant we've EVER eaten at in AK? As in one of our favorite CS restaurants in WDW? Yep, same one!

Do you even have to ask what we got? Well, if you knew us better, you would answer, "no".

LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVE these ribs. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. Hold-down-the-letter-keys good. Glad the kids refuse to try them good. Won't even let the ducks have any good.

Ok, ok, I wouldn't let the ducks have them anyway. It's bad for them, and it makes them aggressive. Remember that in a few days. Anyway, Emily got the chicken and a side of onion rings. I asked her how they were, but her mind was apparently elsewhere.

We sat at the bottom, by the water, of course, with the view of Expedition Everest. We didn't get many pictures of that this year (since we've taken tons in other years, I guess), but we did get the required shot:

Dylan then wants to take a picture with our camera, holding it out over the rope fence, and I freak out. This kid has BOBBLEHANDS. I'm not exaggerating, either. Give him just about anything to hold, and he will somehow drop it. Sometimes, it makes no sense, but other times, he's goofing around, trying to balance things on his palm, spinning them around...so it's good I grab the camera from him. I could just imagine him dropping it in there, and me having to dive in to get it. I saw a small alligator in there once. I also heard there may be dinosaurs in there, too. Disaster averted.

In closing out the lunch recap, I must say that would I recommend Flame Tree to anyone. Great food and a really cool location. I have not eaten at any other CS at AK, and I can honestly only locate one other one. I think there's one over by Dinosaur, isn't there? Speaking of, Kristin takes the kids to the Boneyard while I get Dinosaur FPs. Wow, these FPS are for like 30 minutes from now. I return, throwing out my catchphrase to Kristin. "I'm really don't think it's that crowded in this park," which I used on the first two days, and will likely use again. I was surprised the crowds were so light, since I believe there was that obstacle course thing going on that night. But "it is what it is" (which will become my third overused catchphrase of this trip).

The kids have fun di-whuh? What's that? What's my first most overused catchphrase? Take a guess...



...if you said, "correct!", in the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor voice, I would respond with, "correct!", in that same Monster's, Inc. Laugh Floor voice. It just works in so many situations, especially with young kids around who are constantly asking questions.

So before I was so rudely, interrupted, I was telling you about how the kids were digging...

Anyone who has been in there with any kind of flip flop or sandal knows that the rocks in this area are magnetically attracted to rubber, and will fill your footwear in milliseconds. It's really not fun walking around in there.

The kids LOVE it, even Dylan, who technically may be a bit old to like this as much as he does. Then again, I'm definitely a bit old for a lot of the juvenile crap I like. Dylan and I are very similar in that way, and I think this is something that annoys Kristin deeply. One of my was bad enough! We empty our shoes, hose down with sunscreen, then head over to the Kiddisappearinator:

Anyone who has been in this thing knows what I mean. It's AWESOME...just look at it. I would've had a blast here when I was a kid, and probably would now if there weren't so many kids running around. But look away for two seconds, and your kids are GONE. Nowhere to be found. You're constantly trying to locate them. With how long the slides are, even when you see them start, it's a good 17 minutes before they reach the bottom. Certainly NOT a People Eater!

Ok, we've been here a while, so where's Emily? Oh, there she is:

I don't break eye contact until she comes back down, and then, we look for Dylan. Five minutes later, we find him and head over for Dino.

I didn't realize, until Kristin's parents got the kids a coloring book of it at a flea market, that this ride was based on a movie. And I don't feel ashamed, because I know none of you realized that, either. That's a movie that certainly isn't coming out of the Disney Vault anytime soon. Another one for the NetFlix queue. Here's, apparently, one of the characters:

And so is this guy, who wants me to know what ride this is:

I also didn't realize until a year or two after we started coming down to WDW as a family that the Carnotaurus was not a real dinosaur. Well, when he's 5 feet away from my Doom Buggy, he looks pretty real.

Though this is one of my favorite rides, and I've been on it countless times, I still want to double-check that it's the ride for me. After a short inspection, I find this sign:

Ok, I'm in the right place. Anyone who's been on this knows this ride is NUTTY, with the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh technology feeling like you're back on Kilimanjo Safari, and all kinds of crazy dinosaur action. Dylan and I are calling it "Larry the Scary Rex". 5 points if you get that reference. I'd also be curious to know if you saw that movie recently, and if it was strangely nowhere near as funny as it was when you were 12.

Hmmm, the Carnotaurus head at the end was showing a Yeti-like shyness today. Maybe he's sick. Maybe he's depressed that he's not a real dinosaur, and isn't even based on one.

Kristin and the kids mill about the shop outside of Dino, while I inexplicably head out of this section of the park:

I honestly can't remember why I was here.

 

[nilla]

It was pretty hot, so we decided to cash in our Kali FPs afterall. Kristin was in a bit of a hurry, but when I see monkeys doing this kind of stuff, I have to take a picture.

And stand around and watch until someone makes me leave. These guys were even better later. I really think the second "Kingdom Keepers" books painted these guys in a really negative light, and I'm upset about it. But that can wait - let's get wet!

The last (and only) other time we rode this, it was Dylan, me, Kristin, and Kristin's Mom. The latter two wearing panchos. Really. How embarassing.

Anyway, the two of them took the big hill backwards and got pretty wet. Well, their panchos did, at least. Dylan and I, on the other hand, were a bit disappointed at how relative un-wet we were. There's a ride like this at the park near our house, and you get absolutely DUMPED on. The whole time. It's like you could just as well go jump into a swimming pool. But not Kali, at least not the last time we rode it.

We buckle up, grabbing a couple of pics first:

Along the way, I noticed that was much less fire than there was the last time we rode. Actually, there's no fire. But some smoke. Oh, and an awesome view that completely forgot about:

There could've been an even better shot a few seconds later, but I was busy protecting the camera from the impending watery doom. Long story short, we DID get pretty wet this time, which felt nice. The kids loved it, too.

We stepped of the ride and immediately grabbed FPs, since we already had Everest FPs and did not intend to ride the Safari or Dinosaur again today. As we walked, we paused for a minute, where Kristin spotted a group of about 6 kids, sitting in a small fountain in a little area next to the path. Kristin suggested getting a picture, because we really did not think that they were supposed to be in there.

That is, until Kristin spotted the sign outlining the rules of the fountain. No more than 6 people. No diarrhea. Ok, I can't argue that.

So Kristin asks our kids if they want to get in, and OF COURSE they do.

Emily has always been a little apprehensive when it comes to getting soaked while fully clothed. I go over to watch the monkeys some more, and when I get back, I see this:

Ok, the kids are soaked. Let's walk around to dry off a little.

Up through the Maharajah Jungle Trek, where we see bats.

One thing I can say about bats is, "they don't wear underwear." But they should.

Off to the tigers next:

It always takes us 10 minutes to spot the first one, even though it's in plain sight. Another walks by. This was a cool exchange, because he nudged heads with the one laying down as he passed. It's really interesting that you can witness love and companionship in a creature that could probably kill you in 10 seconds. This guy stops for a nice pose...

...as the onlookers wonder if he would ever dare to jump. Who knows. I have a GREAT story about a tiger long-distance urinating on the guy standing right in front of me at the Philadelphia Zoo about 10 years ago, which I will tell you if you're interested in hearing it. Well, I basically DID just tell you, since that's really all there is to that story. It's a memory I'll never forget, though.

Thankfully, these tigers are not only potty trained, but they're being glass, too, so we're safe. Nevertheless, I'm not standing right in front, because you never know what a wild animal is capable of.

Up next...it's gorilla time!

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[nilla]

Well, it appears it is NOT gorilla time. At least not tonight. Dylan badgered me into reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and now I'm hooked. I should be able to finish Rodrick Rules tonight

 

[cmaee]

Well, I may not know the reference to Larry the Scary Rex, but I did know that Dinosaur was based off of a movie and we have watched it numerous times. Our boys went through a HUGE dinosaur stage and we must have watched the movie everyday for weeks...months. The first time we rode Dinosaur we had to do a Rider Switch because our DD was not yet 40". My DH took the kids on it first and convinced them that it was going to be like the movie they love. When they got off the ride their first words to me were "It will freak you out, Mom" and it was "nothing like the movie". My boys will ride it once each time we go, but they never want to ride it twice. My youngest DS usually says "If you want to go back in time, you can leave me here!"

 

[nilla]

Well, I may not know the reference to Larry the Scary Rex...

It's from "Clifford", with Martin Short. LtSR is the crazy roller coaster at the end, which has Dinosaur-like effects. And it's even crazier than Dinosaur, if you can imagine that!

I'll have to add the movie "Dinosaur" to our Netflix queue, right after "Tower of Terror"

Love that ride. It's nuts!

 

[KatMark]

Hey, saw you on another thread today.

First, LOVE LOVE LOVE Dinosaur. Unfortunately, Mark hates it so I always ride by myself now.

We've not done Kali Rapids in a few years (I think 2008 was the last time) so perhaps it is time yet again.

I love the monkeys too and just enjoy standing and watching them to see what they are up to. Bats -- nope, walk right through there and won't even look; great photo of the tiger.

The pictures of Emily getting drenched in the fountain are really cute.

Again, I sill see NO reason for cussing out your kids.

 

[nilla]

Alrgiht, what are we waiting for? There are gorillas in this park, including the one-year-old girl you saw last year when she was a baby. Let's go!

So are we going the right way? Well, the sign DOES show a gorilla, so we're probably good:

Ummmmm...no gorillas yet. Are you sure we're going the right way? Oh, wait - I guess maybe we should look here, eh?

"Gorilla Valley" sounds promising.



***BACK STORY***



I LOVE gorillas. That's basically it. I probably said this in my last TR. I'll probably say it in the next. I just really love them. I kick myself for not going into primatology. So naturally, I love this:

Is that her up there? Yep, it looks like Lilly!

Lilly is the greatest. I don't know what else to say about that.

I talk to a CM for a while, and apparently, the gorilla area is two separate areas. One side is a male, his females, and Lilly. The other side is all dudes. I don't really take pictures of that side, because they're just over there eating pizza, playing X-Box and drinking Natural Light. Or sleeping.

See what I mean? Gorilla Valley looks fairly escape proof...

...but everyone knows that all a gorilla needs to exit is a hat, Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, and human accomplice. I wonder if they've considered that? Emily is now a tour guide again, and also a "leaf expert". I hand her leaves, and she explains to me what ficticious names they have, and why they are the colors they are. Starting with, "ohhhh...", of course.

Next to us, a guest has just been told that she cannot have the plastic straw that is in her McDonald's cup. She says no one told her she couldn't have it, but the CM explains how awful it is for the animals. She also explains all of the other common-sense reasons why plastic straws are not a good idea in an Animal Kingdom, but this woman wants to keep arguing. I never knew anyone could be so attached to a straw.

We watch Lilly for a few more minutes, and Kristin is even hooked. Ok, we can't stay here ALL day, can we?

Of course not - we still have EE FPs, and possibly time for a few other things before we head to Boma for dinner.

 

[nilla]

So off for another run on Expedition Everest - but wait - Kristin notes that we still have a lot of time, and throws the out-there suggestion of taking the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. vERY out of character for us to go there.

We were there once, and found it somewhat interesting, but not enough to justify the lost time in a 1-day park. But here we are, on the crazy sideways train back to RPW. We go past the most depressing section of WDW:

Sick rhino behind the middle post.

Evidently, the animals are brought in every evening. EVERY evening. That seems like a big project to be doing daily, though it makes sense why they do it. As Krisin points out, you would have just gotten all of them out, and it would be time to put them back. Tedious!

We arrive:

One good thing about this place is no one really comes here. We go inside - hey, characters! They weren't here last year! First off is Rafiki:

Lion King was in the theater when Kristin and I started dating, and we saw it together at least 7 times. That's not an exaggeration. "What should we do today?" "Lion King's still playing."

It's still probably my favorite Disney movie. We go into Sounds of the Rainforest, or whatever it's called, and maybe 3 of the 6 sets of headphones actually work. I lose out on this game of musical headphones, but one of the bad sets has at least one good ear, so I hear some of it. Meh. Nothing thrilling.

We exit to see a large rodent wheeled across on a gurney of some sort. We start to look at the animal stuff, starting with th-WHOA!! Is...that...?

I've been looking for Jiminy Cricket for 5 years, and here he is. At Rafiki's Planet Watch, of all places! Hold on...

Pocahontas? Really?

We talk to the CMs in this area and learn a lot. We had a great time here this time around, and continue to fall more and more in love with AK. We grab the train back to the mainland, then head along the parade route, toward EE:

This guy tells us to keep moving, though we have yet to stop. I can probably count the mid-day parades we've actually stopped to watch on one hand. We're just not in "sit" mode at that time of the day.

We ride EE again, and Emily loves it, again. We check the time, and it looks like we can still see Finding Nemo: The Musical. Alright, let's do it!

FN and Festival of the Lion King are our every-other-year alternating visits. Nemo wins this year, and does it ever. What a great show!

After the show, it's time to head out. We get some pics on the way out. This is one:

I also take this one, because I think it's cool that there was originally going to be a dragon-themed section to this park, and even though it never happened, they at least put this here:

I think they should reconsider, and build a complete magical fantasy area. The can even make up a story behind hind it...they could call it the Magical Land of Henry Porter, or something like that. Pigzits. Mayonaissewine.

On that subject, if I had a time machine, I would go back and somehow ensure that Disney got the Harry Potter theme park rights. It's almost unimaginable how cool that would've been!

What's that? The bus is here? Alright, off we go. Animal Kingdom Lodge, here we come!

 

[nilla]

We arrive at AKL, and it's sort of dual-mission this year. We want to try Boma again, since I wasn't that impressed the first time. We also want to take another look at the resort, to confirm that we want to stay here in the near future.

We put our name in, and there's a wait. Kristin takes the kids to the bathroom, and we immediately get buzzed. We're finally seated, and our waiter comes over. He is from "Catasaque, PA". Kristin asks if that's supposed to be "Catasaqua", which is a town not far from us, and it is - they spelled it wrong. We start talking about the Bethlehem Brew Works and the Heavenly Hedgehog and Toy Magic and other things that most people reading this Trip Report don't care about and are probably bored of hearing about already. Alright, alright, onto the drinks.

No pics (for some reason), but I get a Dogfish Head IPA, which becomes my standard for non-Epcot meals. Kristin gets some sort of wine. As for the food...

It's a buffet, so I'll point out some of my favorite things from the pictures above. There's...that. And that. Oh, and that. Not a foodie's TR, is it?

It was really good, though. The carrot ginger soup is so delicious, and there were a lot of good, different things to choose from. I should really have Kristin sub in on this TR when I'm doing a food update, because I just don't pay attention to it like she does. Jon eat!

Emily takes a self-portrait...

...and it's off to the outside to explore the grounds:

Then inside:

Wait a second, that last one was from Panchito's! When did we get back to Coronado? And how???

Hold up, rewind. So how did we like AKL?

I'd have to say we're not sold. It looked a lot like Wilderness Lodge to me. And while we loved WL when we were there, neither of us remember it as positively since we started staying at CSR. It's looking like CSR may just win out NEXT year, too.

We got a cab from AKL to CSR, which was really inexpensive. Well, economically. I did pay for it physically, while helping the driver load the stroller into the back. I was standing behind it and pushing, and it got stuck on the back door, driving it right into my Naoubas (see early discussion about "La Nouba"). Awful, but Dylan found it funny.

And so a word was born. "Naouba" took on many meanings. In the Cirque commercial, the one guy Naoubas the other guy with a giant arrow. Anyone getting hurt is considered to get "Naoubad". Dylan, however, for some reason, prefers to use it in the context of "getting kicked in the Naoubas". Is that kind of humor normal in a 9-year-old boy?

But back at CSR, Emily makes two Vinylmation trades. With the first, she gets Alice. With the second, she gets the swirly Urban guy Dylan's wanted for a while. Trade bait! We shop a little more, then head back to the room.

 

[nilla]

More evening CSR pics:

I return to the room, where the kids are showered and ready for bed. Well, they're showered.

Kristin steps outside to call a friend back home, because she would seriously get phone withdrawal if she didn't. I'm not going to get in the way of that.

In the meantime, the kids are now hitting each other with the cylinder-shaped pillows on the bed. Ok, cylinder-shaped pillows are not banished to the corner. Now they're jumping from one bed to the other. Dylan knocks Emily's stuffed puppy on floor, and she's not happy about it. I tell her it was an accident, but she hits him anyway. I move her to the other bed, and he comes over and hits her. "But she did it to me!"

We are partly to blame for this, because we DID tell him he can hit her back, since she really wasn't responding to anything else. She's a tough girl until something happens to her, and then she's done. He is generally a non-violent person, but is getting really tired of being beat up by his little sister.

So I've pretty much had it with these kids. I'm tired, and ready for bed. I think I probably fell asleep before them.

All in all, it was a great day at AK, with lighter-than-expected crowds and a lot of great memories. Tons of unusual characters, too.

It's fairly early, so there will be plenty of regeneration time tonight. Tomorrow, we hit the WDW four-fecta (I'm sure there's a term for that, but I don't feel like looking it up) by visiting Hollywood Studios on our fourth park day. See you then!

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[KatMark]

Jon, great updates. Jiminey and Rafiki...maybe I need to go back.

Your meal at Boma looks really good.

And since I'm cheating on CSR in September with AKL for a few nights before going "home" to CSR, I'll have to let you know how it is.