We woke up a little before 8:00 & had breakfast in the room again. My sister's friend decided to stay back at the hotel & relax, so it was just the family today. Made it to AK right around park opening time. Headed straight to KS & rode after a very short wait. Lots of animals out & about due to the fact it was early morning. Got good views of many animals, especially a giraffe that was right at the side of the road. So close I could have reached out & touched, but none of us did of course. My biggest complaint was the extreme difficulty in taking picture due to the bumpiness of the ride.
After riding we did the Pangani (sp?) forest trail, which was also enjoyable. Seemed a little short, though. We then watched a little of the musical acts in Harambe, then took the train to Rafiki's planet watch. I recommend the rain forest sound booths. Very relaxing in there. Saw all the displays in the veterinary section & headed out to the petting zoo. Brushed a few goats. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I were 7.
We then headed over to Asia, where we went straight to Kali River Rapids. Fun but short. Given the heat & humidity, we loved getting wet. Luckily we all managed to keep our feet dry.
We decided we wanted to ride a second time, so we grabbed fastpasses (our 1st & only on this trip), and walked the Maharaja jingle trek. Also very good. The tigers were very active still, and the bat & bird displays were a lot of fun.
We still had time before our fastpass return, so we broke for lunch. Little sister & I had pizza (again). We met up after lunch & rode KRR again, getting even more soaked than the 1st time. We never dried off freom that 2nd trip until we returned to the hotel. After KRR we headed to ITTBAB. I liked the show a lot, and it's much better than MV:3D. About equal w/HISTA. The exiting of the grubs at the end was a funny surprise.
After leaving the theater, I realized I no longer had my sunglasses & case in my pocket, where I put them when we entered the theater. I looked around the queue, but couldn't find them. I was told by a CM to check at guest relations before leaving the park.
We were then off top Dinoland & rode Dinosaur w/no wait. (This was at around 2:00 in the afternoon, so that should tell you what the crowds were like). Dinosaur was OK, but didn't thrill me. We then headed to Primeval Whirl, and rode after a 10-minute wait. Also OK, not the most thrilling. Agree w/those who think it looks a little cheap, but since this was my 1st AK trip, I can't imagine how desolate Dinoland looked before it was put in.
By this point it started raining, so we decided to head back to the hotel, as we had also seen everything except for the shows. We all agreed that we wanted to get back, shower & get dry, so we were willing to forgo the shows. There's always next time. We headed out, stopping to look at some of the animals in the Discovery Island trails. I stopped at GR, & was told they didn't have my glasses. I was told to call central lost & found the next morning.
We lefty AK & headed back to POR. I wanted to make it to MK between 7 & 8 for E-ride night. We all napped & showered. Ate dinner in the FC at POR, then got the bus for MK & arrived at the gates around 7:00-7:30. Got our wristbands at Town Hall & headed into Fantasyland. We decided to quickly ride a number of the rides we knew would not be open that night. So we rode IASM, PP'sF, POC & Dumbo (only a 10-minute wait, how could we resist?
) After Dumbo, I had a long conversation w/my GF before FITS. Tried describing the fireworks to her, but something was lost in the translation.
After I was off the phone, we headed into Tomorrowland & rode Space Mt. Lots of fun & for some reason seemed less jerky/painful than when we rode on Tuesday. Could be that riding ToT & RnR made it seem lesser. Then everyone went on Buzz expect me. There were 5 of us & I didn't want to play against a stranger & I didn't care for the ride too much anyway. While they were on, I wanted to ride TTA, but it was down for repairs I guess. When they were done w/Buzz, we headed for Alien Encounter (all expect my older sister). I didn't stop laughing from the minute the alien escaped until it was over. I didn't find it scary at all, not event the tongue on the neck sensation. I think the big reason was that I didnt find the alien visually frightening from the start. Looked like the old Fantastic Four villain Annihulus (sp?). No one else I was with thought it was really scary, and no kids were leaving in tears, so maybe people are heeding the warning signs.
We then decided to head over to the rides in Frontierland, but stopped in the hub to chat w/all the characters there. We got out photos taken w/Goofy, Pluto, Mickey (ands the girls w/Minnie). No lines & very good shots. We then rode Splash Mountain & got soaked. The worst was going around the bend at the beginning as another boat was heading down the big drop. That splash was the worst. BTW, that is a fantastic ride for nighttime, w/the views of the rest of the park & esp. the castle all lit up. We then headed to BTMRR, which was also a neat experience, as it was the 1st time on that ride at night.
After BTM, we went to the Country Bears building, but the show had just started. We didn't feel like waiting around for another 20 minutes, so we went & did HM. No wait there either. After leaving HM, it was about 12:30, and we had only 1/2 hour left. Everyone (except me) was done w/rides & wanted a snack. So we headed over to Main St. Some of us went to the ice cream parlor, and other went to the Bakery. I got a double scoop strawberry cone, which must have contained about 8 scoops of ice cream. Really insane looking. I wimped out & took a cup & spoon. We then grabbed some last minute gifts at the emporium & then headed out.
E-ride was fun, but I feel we missed out on the point, which I think is to ride a ride 4 or 5 times in a row. We did not do that. Another interesting thing is that some CMs get really weird by the end. I shudder to think that any of them had been there since before the park opened in the morning, but I guess it's possible. Makes their odd behavior - not rude, just strange - understandable.
We were back in the hotel by 1:30, and I quickly fell asleep, dreaming of how to extend the vacation. Tomorrow was our last day.
After riding we did the Pangani (sp?) forest trail, which was also enjoyable. Seemed a little short, though. We then watched a little of the musical acts in Harambe, then took the train to Rafiki's planet watch. I recommend the rain forest sound booths. Very relaxing in there. Saw all the displays in the veterinary section & headed out to the petting zoo. Brushed a few goats. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I were 7.
We then headed over to Asia, where we went straight to Kali River Rapids. Fun but short. Given the heat & humidity, we loved getting wet. Luckily we all managed to keep our feet dry.
We decided we wanted to ride a second time, so we grabbed fastpasses (our 1st & only on this trip), and walked the Maharaja jingle trek. Also very good. The tigers were very active still, and the bat & bird displays were a lot of fun.We still had time before our fastpass return, so we broke for lunch. Little sister & I had pizza (again). We met up after lunch & rode KRR again, getting even more soaked than the 1st time. We never dried off freom that 2nd trip until we returned to the hotel. After KRR we headed to ITTBAB. I liked the show a lot, and it's much better than MV:3D. About equal w/HISTA. The exiting of the grubs at the end was a funny surprise.
After leaving the theater, I realized I no longer had my sunglasses & case in my pocket, where I put them when we entered the theater. I looked around the queue, but couldn't find them. I was told by a CM to check at guest relations before leaving the park.
We were then off top Dinoland & rode Dinosaur w/no wait. (This was at around 2:00 in the afternoon, so that should tell you what the crowds were like). Dinosaur was OK, but didn't thrill me. We then headed to Primeval Whirl, and rode after a 10-minute wait. Also OK, not the most thrilling. Agree w/those who think it looks a little cheap, but since this was my 1st AK trip, I can't imagine how desolate Dinoland looked before it was put in.
By this point it started raining, so we decided to head back to the hotel, as we had also seen everything except for the shows. We all agreed that we wanted to get back, shower & get dry, so we were willing to forgo the shows. There's always next time. We headed out, stopping to look at some of the animals in the Discovery Island trails. I stopped at GR, & was told they didn't have my glasses. I was told to call central lost & found the next morning.
We lefty AK & headed back to POR. I wanted to make it to MK between 7 & 8 for E-ride night. We all napped & showered. Ate dinner in the FC at POR, then got the bus for MK & arrived at the gates around 7:00-7:30. Got our wristbands at Town Hall & headed into Fantasyland. We decided to quickly ride a number of the rides we knew would not be open that night. So we rode IASM, PP'sF, POC & Dumbo (only a 10-minute wait, how could we resist?
) After Dumbo, I had a long conversation w/my GF before FITS. Tried describing the fireworks to her, but something was lost in the translation. After I was off the phone, we headed into Tomorrowland & rode Space Mt. Lots of fun & for some reason seemed less jerky/painful than when we rode on Tuesday. Could be that riding ToT & RnR made it seem lesser. Then everyone went on Buzz expect me. There were 5 of us & I didn't want to play against a stranger & I didn't care for the ride too much anyway. While they were on, I wanted to ride TTA, but it was down for repairs I guess. When they were done w/Buzz, we headed for Alien Encounter (all expect my older sister). I didn't stop laughing from the minute the alien escaped until it was over. I didn't find it scary at all, not event the tongue on the neck sensation. I think the big reason was that I didnt find the alien visually frightening from the start. Looked like the old Fantastic Four villain Annihulus (sp?). No one else I was with thought it was really scary, and no kids were leaving in tears, so maybe people are heeding the warning signs.
We then decided to head over to the rides in Frontierland, but stopped in the hub to chat w/all the characters there. We got out photos taken w/Goofy, Pluto, Mickey (ands the girls w/Minnie). No lines & very good shots. We then rode Splash Mountain & got soaked. The worst was going around the bend at the beginning as another boat was heading down the big drop. That splash was the worst. BTW, that is a fantastic ride for nighttime, w/the views of the rest of the park & esp. the castle all lit up. We then headed to BTMRR, which was also a neat experience, as it was the 1st time on that ride at night.
After BTM, we went to the Country Bears building, but the show had just started. We didn't feel like waiting around for another 20 minutes, so we went & did HM. No wait there either. After leaving HM, it was about 12:30, and we had only 1/2 hour left. Everyone (except me) was done w/rides & wanted a snack. So we headed over to Main St. Some of us went to the ice cream parlor, and other went to the Bakery. I got a double scoop strawberry cone, which must have contained about 8 scoops of ice cream. Really insane looking. I wimped out & took a cup & spoon. We then grabbed some last minute gifts at the emporium & then headed out.
E-ride was fun, but I feel we missed out on the point, which I think is to ride a ride 4 or 5 times in a row. We did not do that. Another interesting thing is that some CMs get really weird by the end. I shudder to think that any of them had been there since before the park opened in the morning, but I guess it's possible. Makes their odd behavior - not rude, just strange - understandable.
We were back in the hotel by 1:30, and I quickly fell asleep, dreaming of how to extend the vacation. Tomorrow was our last day.
