Canadave
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 1999
- Messages
- 891
Sorry folks, we've had a household of flu, colds and sore throats this past week and a half...so let's get back to these trip reports...
The CAST: DD1 (Brittany, 15 yrs. old), DD2 (Emily, 11 yrs. old), DW (Marylynn, let's just say early 40's) and myself (Dave,same)
Friday Jan. 30/04
Today's forecast is cloudy and into the 60's, good chance of rain...it's off to Animal Kingdom for Early Entry...or Extra Magic Hour...or whatever they call it now. Last time we were at WDW they had cancelled the EE for that awful (IMHO) Caravan of Characters...just what the guests wanted
...anyway, enough griping and on with this trip...
When we arrive, the young CM's are standing around with their boxes of bugs, scorpions, spiders, etc. We always like to check them out and chat with the "enthusiastic" CM's...they seem to genuinely like to talk about their particular creature. Next we head over to TTBAB...always enjoy the show (used to be my favourite 3D at WDW until Philharmagic, but that's another report)...the end of TTBAB is always a hoot. Now that I've been to the show many times, I like to look around me at those who are first-timers
...the look on their faces is just too much.
Next for EE is the Kilamanjaro Safari...I find that the driver makes all the difference in the world as to how much fun the safari is going to be. This trip, although the animals are active, our driver is not. He drove soooooooo slow, all the time, and was not very convincing about saving Big Red. Just a tip for those who haven't been on KS yet...we have found the animals to be most active if you ride in the morning, before it gets too hot...just our experience.
On to Pangani Trails...naked mole rats, always fun to watch...I don't know if they have acquired more gorillas, but this was by far the most I have seen here...and they were very active, even the males. One young gorilla was putting on a show for us...climbing trees, teasing and playing with the other older gorillas...it was certainly exciting to watch them (and try to figure out what they were thinking
)
After watching some drummers in Africa, we met DeVine on the way to Flights of Wonder. This is the first time we have ever seen DeVine...very cool...very graceful.
The FOW was being rehabbed on our last trip, so we hadn't seen it for a few years, but the show seemed to be the same...interesting enough I guess, but I had a "been there, done that" feeling...but that's just my opinion.
Now on to Chester & Hester's Dino-rama...there's just something about this area that doesn't seem 'Disney-like'...maybe it's the games, I don't know, but the primeval whirl seemed intriguing, so we thought we'd give it a try...DD2 opted out while in the line-up, just a little nervous...and of course DW wanted no part of it...
just so you get an idea on each of our levels of 'risk' taking... My 2 favourite attractions- Splash Mtn and Tower of Terror: DD1's - Splash Mtn and Rock'n Roller Coaster: DD2's - Splash Mtn and Space Mtn: DW - Beauty & the Beast Show and It's a Small World....you get the picture
...back to primeval whirl...the line up was pretty long, but at first it was moving well...then it stopped...Break Down...we decided to wait it out while DW and DD2 went to look for a place where DD2 could get her face painted....one of the few disappointments on our trip...the CM's sent them this way and that and some of them had no idea where to send them...eventually, after crossing to the other side of the park to Africa they finally found the booth...the line was huge and they wanted $12 US!!! (opinions change in a later trip report )...so back to Dino-rama they came...but instead of a face painting, we had a sour face on DD2 and a tired and frustrated face on DW. Meanwhile, we finally got onto the ride with another couple and it turned out to be pretty good...not great, but pretty good.
When we were all assembled again, we watched Smear, Splat and Dip perform...very entertaining...another great Disney touch...then lo and behold...there was Donald and Daisy, dressed in dinosaur outfits...very cute....although we already had their autographs, pictures were a must...
by the way, one of WDW's greatest activities, is autograph collecting. This is our third trip, and there's always character signatures that we haven't got yet. Even 15 year old DD1 still loves to collect them...in fact, her 2 main goals for this trip was to get a tan, of course, and to get Jafar's autograph!
...scheduling had us heading to Tarzan Rocks...always an exciting show...the music is great and the roller bladers are amazing...because we have seen most of the shows at WDW on previous trips, we try to sit in different areas, to get a different perspective each time...this time it was the back area, but the aisle that the roller bladers use was right in front of us...man, do they go fast!!!!!
After the show, we needed some sustenance, if you want to call it that, from Petri-fries. Then DD1 and I headed to Dinosaur while DD2 and DW checked out the Boneyard. DW had actually went on Dinosaur with us last trip...but I think that would be her one and only
. A bit of a line up at Dinosaur, but it moved fast.
Next, we were all off to Camp Mickey-Minnie...but not before spending some time with LILO & STITCH (another family favourite, especially Stitch). The CM doing Stitch was so good...so in character...almost died laughing when he wiped his nose on Lilo's dress...I know, I know, but you had to be there...
We finally made it to Festival of the Lion King...just in time as they were filling empty spots...lucky for us we were in the second row of the giraffe section. This show is soooooooo Disney...great colours, great dancing, great singing, (tumble monkeys are awesome) etc etc...so much fanfare...and what a perfect view. Maybe it was our vantage point, but although we'd seen the show many times, this one seemed better than the rest.
As we left the theatre, we soon discovered that the weatherman was right (darn)...it had started to lightly rain. Unfortunately, too much rain for the Pocohontas show, as it was cancelled. We checked out the autograph area and got Koda and Keida's autographs (from Brother Bear).
On to the Chakranadi Chicken Shop for some chicken stir fry for a late lunch...the food was quite tasty, but sitting outside under the umbrella in the rain, with hardly anybody around, was kind of depressing. We waited out the decision on whether the parade would go on. Although the rain had slowed down for a while, it picked up again and at about 5 minutes before parade time, they announced that it was cancelled for the day
This probably would have been a good time to do Kali River Rapids, since we were already wet , but KRR was be rehabbed this week.
We had planned on doing Epcot this evening after AK closed, but we figured we might as well head over there a bit early and check out Mission Space!
The CAST: DD1 (Brittany, 15 yrs. old), DD2 (Emily, 11 yrs. old), DW (Marylynn, let's just say early 40's) and myself (Dave,same)
Friday Jan. 30/04
Today's forecast is cloudy and into the 60's, good chance of rain...it's off to Animal Kingdom for Early Entry...or Extra Magic Hour...or whatever they call it now. Last time we were at WDW they had cancelled the EE for that awful (IMHO) Caravan of Characters...just what the guests wanted
...anyway, enough griping and on with this trip...When we arrive, the young CM's are standing around with their boxes of bugs, scorpions, spiders, etc. We always like to check them out and chat with the "enthusiastic" CM's...they seem to genuinely like to talk about their particular creature. Next we head over to TTBAB...always enjoy the show (used to be my favourite 3D at WDW until Philharmagic, but that's another report)...the end of TTBAB is always a hoot. Now that I've been to the show many times, I like to look around me at those who are first-timers
...the look on their faces is just too much.Next for EE is the Kilamanjaro Safari...I find that the driver makes all the difference in the world as to how much fun the safari is going to be. This trip, although the animals are active, our driver is not. He drove soooooooo slow, all the time, and was not very convincing about saving Big Red. Just a tip for those who haven't been on KS yet...we have found the animals to be most active if you ride in the morning, before it gets too hot...just our experience.
On to Pangani Trails...naked mole rats, always fun to watch...I don't know if they have acquired more gorillas, but this was by far the most I have seen here...and they were very active, even the males. One young gorilla was putting on a show for us...climbing trees, teasing and playing with the other older gorillas...it was certainly exciting to watch them (and try to figure out what they were thinking
)After watching some drummers in Africa, we met DeVine on the way to Flights of Wonder. This is the first time we have ever seen DeVine...very cool...very graceful.
The FOW was being rehabbed on our last trip, so we hadn't seen it for a few years, but the show seemed to be the same...interesting enough I guess, but I had a "been there, done that" feeling...but that's just my opinion.
Now on to Chester & Hester's Dino-rama...there's just something about this area that doesn't seem 'Disney-like'...maybe it's the games, I don't know, but the primeval whirl seemed intriguing, so we thought we'd give it a try...DD2 opted out while in the line-up, just a little nervous...and of course DW wanted no part of it...
just so you get an idea on each of our levels of 'risk' taking... My 2 favourite attractions- Splash Mtn and Tower of Terror: DD1's - Splash Mtn and Rock'n Roller Coaster: DD2's - Splash Mtn and Space Mtn: DW - Beauty & the Beast Show and It's a Small World....you get the picture
...back to primeval whirl...the line up was pretty long, but at first it was moving well...then it stopped...Break Down...we decided to wait it out while DW and DD2 went to look for a place where DD2 could get her face painted....one of the few disappointments on our trip...the CM's sent them this way and that and some of them had no idea where to send them...eventually, after crossing to the other side of the park to Africa they finally found the booth...the line was huge and they wanted $12 US!!! (opinions change in a later trip report
)...so back to Dino-rama they came...but instead of a face painting, we had a sour face on DD2 and a tired and frustrated face on DW. Meanwhile, we finally got onto the ride with another couple and it turned out to be pretty good...not great, but pretty good. When we were all assembled again, we watched Smear, Splat and Dip perform...very entertaining...another great Disney touch...then lo and behold...there was Donald and Daisy, dressed in dinosaur outfits...very cute....although we already had their autographs, pictures were a must...
by the way, one of WDW's greatest activities, is autograph collecting. This is our third trip, and there's always character signatures that we haven't got yet. Even 15 year old DD1 still loves to collect them...in fact, her 2 main goals for this trip was to get a tan, of course, and to get Jafar's autograph!
...scheduling had us heading to Tarzan Rocks...always an exciting show...the music is great and the roller bladers are amazing...because we have seen most of the shows at WDW on previous trips, we try to sit in different areas, to get a different perspective each time...this time it was the back area, but the aisle that the roller bladers use was right in front of us...man, do they go fast!!!!!
After the show, we needed some sustenance, if you want to call it that, from Petri-fries. Then DD1 and I headed to Dinosaur while DD2 and DW checked out the Boneyard. DW had actually went on Dinosaur with us last trip...but I think that would be her one and only
. A bit of a line up at Dinosaur, but it moved fast.Next, we were all off to Camp Mickey-Minnie...but not before spending some time with LILO & STITCH (another family favourite, especially Stitch). The CM doing Stitch was so good...so in character...almost died laughing when he wiped his nose on Lilo's dress...I know, I know, but you had to be there...
We finally made it to Festival of the Lion King...just in time as they were filling empty spots...lucky for us we were in the second row of the giraffe section. This show is soooooooo Disney...great colours, great dancing, great singing, (tumble monkeys are awesome) etc etc...so much fanfare...and what a perfect view. Maybe it was our vantage point, but although we'd seen the show many times, this one seemed better than the rest.
As we left the theatre, we soon discovered that the weatherman was right (darn)...it had started to lightly rain. Unfortunately, too much rain for the Pocohontas show, as it was cancelled. We checked out the autograph area and got Koda and Keida's autographs (from Brother Bear).
On to the Chakranadi Chicken Shop for some chicken stir fry for a late lunch...the food was quite tasty, but sitting outside under the umbrella in the rain, with hardly anybody around, was kind of depressing. We waited out the decision on whether the parade would go on. Although the rain had slowed down for a while, it picked up again and at about 5 minutes before parade time, they announced that it was cancelled for the day
This probably would have been a good time to do Kali River Rapids, since we were already wet
, but KRR was be rehabbed this week. We had planned on doing Epcot this evening after AK closed, but we figured we might as well head over there a bit early and check out Mission Space!
) Too bad Kali was down for rehab ... it's one of our fav's!
