TinkTatoo
Has a Tink tattoo on her shoulder
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2004
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Tinks Summer 2006 Tour Day 19 Animal Kingdom and Donalds Breakfastosaurus
Cast
Me - 44 Chief planner loves all things Disney
DH - 50 Designated driver cant wait for Vero Beach
DS 9 Hunting for Yu-Gi-Oh Cards (again)
DD 8 Minnies number 1 fan also loves Vero Beach
Tuesday 15th August
Day 19 - Animal Kingdom and Donalds Breakfastosaurus
Today we were having breakfast at Donalds Breakfastosaurus and our ADR was for 9:30am. I woke up around 7 ish I was going to catch up on the trip reports but the laptop was in our room I couldnt get it without making too much noise. Instead I made some coffee and watched some TV. I woke DH at around half 7 and we let the kids sleep until just after 8am. We managed to get the half 8 bus but not with out some giving out from both DS and DD who didnt want to get up and get going.
Ours is the 2nd stop on the internal OKW route and once we did the other 3 it took about 20 minutes to make the journey AK. We got off the bus at around 8:50am and by the time we walked to the entrance and got through bag search the park was already open. Everyone seemed to be heading over to Everest but there were still a few people going our way. The podium for Donalds Breakfastosaurus was manic and there were loads of families waiting. I also noticed that there were quite a few people in the line without ADRs hoping to get a table. It took about 10 minutes to get to the podium by which time DS was getting very agitated with a combination of tiredness and hunger. The person checking us in noticed and I told her about DSs autism. She could see he was stressed and said she would try and seat us within 10-15 minutes (I have no idea how long we might have waited otherwise.) They have no pagers here, you have to sit outside the restaurant in the hot sun until they call your name. The whole area was very busy and there were a lot of fractious kids (and parents) waiting.
Eventually we were called in and shown to our table right at the back of the restaurant, which was about as far away from the buffet as you could be. Our server Debra was very nice and quite funny, at one stage she asked me if I wanted ketchup and proceeded to squirt a fake bottle at me - the kids thought this was hilarious.
The food was OK but there was always a very long line for the buffet and I couldnt let DS and DD go up on their own. The one time I did they were gone for ages when I went to check I could see the adults cutting in front of them and them not being able to get to the buffet. DD liked the breakfast pizza while DS only ate a few slices of bacon and some peaches. The characters were over the other side of the restaurant but soon came into our area. We saw Goofy, Pluto, Mickey and Donald. They all got loads of cheers and there was a very exuberant Spanish family at the next table who were really excited to see all the characters. We were there for about an hour and the breakfast was OK but not one we would do again.
After breakfast the kids wanted to go into the bone yard so we let them off for about half an hour before heading to the safari. It was about half 11 when we rode it and apart from some different types of antelope, some Zebra, some Hippos under water and a couple of Crocs (the animal type as well as the shoes) we didnt really see many animals. You really do need to get to this ride early as the animals are much more active. When we left the safari we went on the train to Rafikis planet watch but first we took the time to play some drums
They have a conservation station at Rafikis where you can see the vets working although this is usually up to about 11am so we missed it for today. There are also some other interactive exhibits and CMs to chat to you about various aspects of their conservation work. Outside is the petting zoo which has sheep goats, donkeys and a lama but again it was so hot that most of the animals were not in the general petting area.
There is a place for you to wash your hands when you leave the petting bit and just as we had finished they were starting the animal show which is where a couple of CMs talk about various animals. Firstly there was a parrot and the CM was asking the kids questions about different types of parrots and giving them lots of information. She was also really pushing the message about thinking long and hard before getting any animals as pets especially ones likes birds and snakes.
Next up was a CM with a snake and she also gave us loads of info and then asked for hands up from anyone who had never touched a snake before. Some of the kids put their hand up and so did DH. She asked him if he was serious about never touching a snake and he said that as St Patrick had gotten ride of them from Ireland, you didnt get much opportunity there. She called him up to be first and got to touch the snake, she then gave him a badge and a recycled pen
. Anyone else who wanted to was invited up and DS did but not DD.
When the show was over we got back on the train and made out way to the 1pm Flights of Wonder show as DH and not seen this. We got some ice-cream and cokes and had them while we were waiting for the show to start. It was a good show but one of the chickens who come out first didnt want to go back inside and kept walking round the stage. The CM tried various methods to coax her back in, including letting the other chickens come out and run back in again to see if she would join in but nothing worked. Eventually after about 10 minutes they got the bird to go back in and they could get on with the show.
Next up was a trip on Kali River rapids as we were all hot. I was next to DH and the kids were together, I though DH & I were going to get a soaking but the raft turned at the last minute and the people opposite us got drenched. The kids wanted to go on again so I let them off with DH and they all got very wet.
We wanted to explore the forest trail but DS was in a bad mood again (he was probably hungry but wouldnt eat anything.) He was giving out so much that we didnt bother (I also figured that you wouldnt get to see much with all the people and the heat so we will do this the next time we come.) We went off in the direction of Everest, which cheered DS up.
DD said her neck felt funny when she got off Everest so she must have banged it on the way round. I wanted to make the 3:00pm Lion King show so we made our way over to that, DD went to get a photo with Minnie in Camp Minnie Mickey before the show started. It was another good show and when we left DD decided she was hungry so we stopped at Pizzafari where we had something to eat. (DS would only eat some chocolate cake as he doesnt like pizza.) This is a nice place to eat and the decoration in the restaurant is really good. When we had finished we went to go out of the side entrance and the parade was just going past the door.
We stopped and watched it and I noticed a small cave across from where we were standing. When the parade was over we tried to get across the street, which was no easy task with the crowds but we made it and when down into the cave. It was an underwater viewing area to see some very playful otters. It was lovely to watch them and I am glad we spotted this place as I never knew it was there.
We decided to leave the park now and made our way out - on the way we spotted a CM with a green lanyard and a pin trading frog. The frog traded for the small pins and was really cute. We traded for two pins which were really cool and unusual.
As we got near the bus stop we could see an OKW bus and the kids ran ahead to ask the driver to wait but he shut the doors and drove off just as they got there. Steve & I staggered up to the bus stop about 5 minutes later. Never mind we only had to wait another 10 minutes for the next one. We got back to the room, got changed and went over to the quiet pool where we spent a couple of hours eventually dragging the kids in just after 7pm.
I got DH to cook some pasta for DS while I went over to Hospitality House to get some supplies. The kids were eating the pasta when I got back and DH & I had some coffee and snacks. We had an early night and it was lights out at half 9.
Tomorrow - MK and The Concourse Steak House
Cast
Me - 44 Chief planner loves all things Disney
DH - 50 Designated driver cant wait for Vero Beach
DS 9 Hunting for Yu-Gi-Oh Cards (again)
DD 8 Minnies number 1 fan also loves Vero Beach
Tuesday 15th August
Day 19 - Animal Kingdom and Donalds Breakfastosaurus
Today we were having breakfast at Donalds Breakfastosaurus and our ADR was for 9:30am. I woke up around 7 ish I was going to catch up on the trip reports but the laptop was in our room I couldnt get it without making too much noise. Instead I made some coffee and watched some TV. I woke DH at around half 7 and we let the kids sleep until just after 8am. We managed to get the half 8 bus but not with out some giving out from both DS and DD who didnt want to get up and get going.
Ours is the 2nd stop on the internal OKW route and once we did the other 3 it took about 20 minutes to make the journey AK. We got off the bus at around 8:50am and by the time we walked to the entrance and got through bag search the park was already open. Everyone seemed to be heading over to Everest but there were still a few people going our way. The podium for Donalds Breakfastosaurus was manic and there were loads of families waiting. I also noticed that there were quite a few people in the line without ADRs hoping to get a table. It took about 10 minutes to get to the podium by which time DS was getting very agitated with a combination of tiredness and hunger. The person checking us in noticed and I told her about DSs autism. She could see he was stressed and said she would try and seat us within 10-15 minutes (I have no idea how long we might have waited otherwise.) They have no pagers here, you have to sit outside the restaurant in the hot sun until they call your name. The whole area was very busy and there were a lot of fractious kids (and parents) waiting.
Eventually we were called in and shown to our table right at the back of the restaurant, which was about as far away from the buffet as you could be. Our server Debra was very nice and quite funny, at one stage she asked me if I wanted ketchup and proceeded to squirt a fake bottle at me - the kids thought this was hilarious.
The food was OK but there was always a very long line for the buffet and I couldnt let DS and DD go up on their own. The one time I did they were gone for ages when I went to check I could see the adults cutting in front of them and them not being able to get to the buffet. DD liked the breakfast pizza while DS only ate a few slices of bacon and some peaches. The characters were over the other side of the restaurant but soon came into our area. We saw Goofy, Pluto, Mickey and Donald. They all got loads of cheers and there was a very exuberant Spanish family at the next table who were really excited to see all the characters. We were there for about an hour and the breakfast was OK but not one we would do again.
After breakfast the kids wanted to go into the bone yard so we let them off for about half an hour before heading to the safari. It was about half 11 when we rode it and apart from some different types of antelope, some Zebra, some Hippos under water and a couple of Crocs (the animal type as well as the shoes) we didnt really see many animals. You really do need to get to this ride early as the animals are much more active. When we left the safari we went on the train to Rafikis planet watch but first we took the time to play some drums
They have a conservation station at Rafikis where you can see the vets working although this is usually up to about 11am so we missed it for today. There are also some other interactive exhibits and CMs to chat to you about various aspects of their conservation work. Outside is the petting zoo which has sheep goats, donkeys and a lama but again it was so hot that most of the animals were not in the general petting area.
There is a place for you to wash your hands when you leave the petting bit and just as we had finished they were starting the animal show which is where a couple of CMs talk about various animals. Firstly there was a parrot and the CM was asking the kids questions about different types of parrots and giving them lots of information. She was also really pushing the message about thinking long and hard before getting any animals as pets especially ones likes birds and snakes.
Next up was a CM with a snake and she also gave us loads of info and then asked for hands up from anyone who had never touched a snake before. Some of the kids put their hand up and so did DH. She asked him if he was serious about never touching a snake and he said that as St Patrick had gotten ride of them from Ireland, you didnt get much opportunity there. She called him up to be first and got to touch the snake, she then gave him a badge and a recycled pen
. Anyone else who wanted to was invited up and DS did but not DD.When the show was over we got back on the train and made out way to the 1pm Flights of Wonder show as DH and not seen this. We got some ice-cream and cokes and had them while we were waiting for the show to start. It was a good show but one of the chickens who come out first didnt want to go back inside and kept walking round the stage. The CM tried various methods to coax her back in, including letting the other chickens come out and run back in again to see if she would join in but nothing worked. Eventually after about 10 minutes they got the bird to go back in and they could get on with the show.
Next up was a trip on Kali River rapids as we were all hot. I was next to DH and the kids were together, I though DH & I were going to get a soaking but the raft turned at the last minute and the people opposite us got drenched. The kids wanted to go on again so I let them off with DH and they all got very wet.
We wanted to explore the forest trail but DS was in a bad mood again (he was probably hungry but wouldnt eat anything.) He was giving out so much that we didnt bother (I also figured that you wouldnt get to see much with all the people and the heat so we will do this the next time we come.) We went off in the direction of Everest, which cheered DS up.
DD said her neck felt funny when she got off Everest so she must have banged it on the way round. I wanted to make the 3:00pm Lion King show so we made our way over to that, DD went to get a photo with Minnie in Camp Minnie Mickey before the show started. It was another good show and when we left DD decided she was hungry so we stopped at Pizzafari where we had something to eat. (DS would only eat some chocolate cake as he doesnt like pizza.) This is a nice place to eat and the decoration in the restaurant is really good. When we had finished we went to go out of the side entrance and the parade was just going past the door.
We stopped and watched it and I noticed a small cave across from where we were standing. When the parade was over we tried to get across the street, which was no easy task with the crowds but we made it and when down into the cave. It was an underwater viewing area to see some very playful otters. It was lovely to watch them and I am glad we spotted this place as I never knew it was there.
We decided to leave the park now and made our way out - on the way we spotted a CM with a green lanyard and a pin trading frog. The frog traded for the small pins and was really cute. We traded for two pins which were really cool and unusual.
As we got near the bus stop we could see an OKW bus and the kids ran ahead to ask the driver to wait but he shut the doors and drove off just as they got there. Steve & I staggered up to the bus stop about 5 minutes later. Never mind we only had to wait another 10 minutes for the next one. We got back to the room, got changed and went over to the quiet pool where we spent a couple of hours eventually dragging the kids in just after 7pm.
I got DH to cook some pasta for DS while I went over to Hospitality House to get some supplies. The kids were eating the pasta when I got back and DH & I had some coffee and snacks. We had an early night and it was lights out at half 9.
Tomorrow - MK and The Concourse Steak House
