Two Castles & a Dumbo Double Dare for Good Measure-Sep13 *Newx5 2/3-AK Epcot & MNNSHP

[Disneyluvr81]

Day 4  Part 6: Goofy Wheres Your Hat?

Our table was near the front of the restaurant across from the buffet. While a very busy location in terms of foot traffic it was great for the characters because we were one of the first stops in our section. Having an early dinner seating meant that the buffet itself didnt get super crazy until later in the meal.

My plates:

(Hummus, pita & salad)

(More hummus & pita, veggies, mac & cheese)

(Carved beef and cheesy mashed potatoes)

Bs Plate:

(Pizza, salad & dinner roll)

(Carved beef, ribs & baked potato)

(B copied my last plate)

Desserts:

Like with Goofys Kitchen, Minnie was the first character to visit our table.

Pluto was shortly behind her and such a kick  he was super cute with each of the families he interacted with.

The first time Mickey came through there must have a something burning in the kitchen because he was rushing with all of the families. I barely got a picture with him and he brushed right past B. It was a little surprising because all of the other characters had been a lot of fun so far.

Goofy certainly made up for the hurried Mickey though. We had fun razzing him about losing his hat. Not sure how it ended up on one of the servers heads but that is where he put it!

As Donald was making his way over to our section I told B to let Donald know that he was one of his favorites. Well, B, thinking he was going to be a character himself tried to tell Donald that he was one of my favorites and instead ended up telling Donald that I was one of his favorites. It took a second to sink in and Donald and I both looked at each other, and I started busting up and promptly told B he had gotten that sentence quite backwards. Donald was a good sport and let us know he was Number 1!

As we were getting close to dessert, all of the characters started to come around again and while we didnt get pictures with them we got to see Minnie and Pluto and with Mickey close by, we decided we wanted to wait a little longer to get to see him again. I am so glad we did cause things must have been running smoothly in the kitchen at that point. Totally different experience than earlier in the meal!

Goofy was right behind Mickey again but had found his hat this time! Seriously love Goofy. Next to Tigger we always have such great interactions with him!

Overall, I would give Chef Mickeys a 4 out of 5 stars. With the exception of Mickeys first visit, we had great character interactions and the food was pretty good. I especially loved the hummus and pita bread!

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 4  Part 7: Shh, Its a Surprise!

Taking advantage of being on the monorail line, we hopped back over to the Poly to drop off our pictures from the meal before making our way out to the boat dock. We once again used the exterior stairs and came out to the most unbelievable sunset.

Seriously, this is my favorite picture of probably all of our trips so far. I have it as my background on my MacBook and wish I could just step through my computer screen and back to that moment!

Tonight was the first of Bs two surprises I had planned for early in the trip and Magic Kingdom was once again our destination.

B had figured out his surprise was related to the fireworks but couldnt figure out how. Ill give you guys a hint&

We didnt have to check in for another 30 mins so we made our way back in to Tomorrowland.

Part of the Limited Time Magic was a Dog Days of Summer dance party back at the Tomorrowland stage and I wanted to see what it was all about it. I really shouldnt have been surprised that they were playing Who Let the Dogs Out was we walked up.

It was cute and the families with little kids seemed to be having a fun time dancing with Bolt, Pluto and Stitch. We checked out the line for SM and unfortunately it was going to cut it just a little to close so we made our way over to Buzz Lightyear that only posted a 5 minute wait (ah, love September crowds).

We received what we sometimes call the Red Card of Doom but luckily the wait ended up only going up slightly to 10 minutes. Gave us a chance to see the details in the queue though.

This was the only time Buzz ended up being out our whole trip, so I was happy we got to see him in action.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Buzz ride. I love its concept but I suck at it, so I hate it haha! I have a little more disdain for WDWs version because the guns don't really move  at least the DL version you can pick up the guns so it makes it easier to aim.

See the disdain, I think I was coveting Bs score!

Evil Emperor Zurg properly in his place, it was time to check in for Bs surprise!

The check in line for the Dessert Party looked long but as soon as they officially started checking in, we got seated quickly.

We were blessed with a table right at the very front. Our view from the table.

The view from the rail.

The dessert area was super crowded and took a while to get through. There was quite a bit to select though and they did have vanilla ice cream in addition to the pastries. They also had lemonade, water and I think possibly hot chocolate for drinks.

Bs plate:

My plate:

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 4  Part 8: Of Parades and Castle Shows

Since we are all seated before 9pm, we could watch the Main Street Electrical parade. One gripe I have about the experience is that even though we had a table at the front, anyone could come up at stand at the rail, which meant if we stayed seated, our view got blocked. I ended up staying at the rail directly in front of our table once the parade started to ensure we had a clear view of everything. It isnt the most ideal parade spot because of the distance but it beat having to deal with crowds.

Even more than getting to see Wishes in its entirety (something we hadnt done before  we both prefer DLs Remember fireworks to Wishes so it was never top on our list) I was so excited to finally get to see Celebrate the Magic. It did not disappoint.

It is just fantastic what the projections do to the castle and even with it being a hot September evening, I got goosebumps as the Up balloons and then the lanterns traveled up the Castle. The night could have ended there for me, I was so happy!

But, it wasnt time for the night to be over yet, we still had fireworks to watch!

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 4 – Part 9: Wishes, Dream a Dream…

The location of the dessert party is right underneath Tinkerbell’s flight path and while I wasn’t able to get a picture having her go right above us was so cool – made the whole dessert party that much more unique.

For viewing the fireworks, I thought the location was perfect!

Overall, I have to give the Dessert Party a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is a unique experience and B was happy with his surprise but we both agree it isn’t something we need to do again. The desserts were just okay, not bad but typical buffet fare and having to babysit a spot on the rail wasn’t exactly fun. I would say if you are looking for a not so crowded spot to watch Wishes and have a sweet tooth, give it a try at least once. If you’ve never seen the Main Street Electrical parade before and it’s your only time to see it – skip the Dessert Party and watch it from Main Street.

With MK now officially closed and our first day at WDW done, we made our way back toward Main Street but couldn’t pass up one last PP pic with the Castle.

Hanging out in the Tomorrowland Terrace area and then getting the picture meant the crowds on Main Street and disbursed but we soon found them again waiting to take the Monorail. It was a boat trip home for us that night!!

Overall, our first day in WDW was amazing and really set the tone for the rest of our trip!

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[JessM]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the Dessert Party, its become a family tradition for us!

 

[Disneyluvr81]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the Dessert Party, its become a family tradition for us!

What a fun family tradition - such great memories to have!

 

[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 – Part 1: SQUIRREL!

Tuesday, September 3rd meant it was our first full day at WDW and another early morning. We were doing a new to us breakfast this morning – Tusker House. We were lucky to snag a pre-park opening time of 8:10am and for all our trying, we still ended up getting out of the room later than planned. We decided to err on the safe side and take a cab to AK. Holy guacamole did that turn out to be expensive!!

It was all good – we made it to AK with time to spare, which gave us a chance to soak in the vacant park. Well, vacant except for the multitude of squirrels – they were seriously everywhere. It was funny watching them flitter across the path as we made our way back to Africa. I was sad they didn’t have any PP people setup like they do at MK.

We got to our reservation right at 8:10 am surprisingly, even Tusker House didn’t have the PP setup for the picture with Donald, they were only taking pictures with your own camera. Not sure if this is normal or if they were just having an off morning but it was a little disappointing considering we had PP+ and were looking forward to getting the picture package with Donald.

Shortly after our pictures, we were called in. We got sat at a 2 person table off to the side of the main room that is next to the buffet. It was a good location, but it did take forever for the characters to get to our area. Our server was fantastic – she was quick to bring us jungle juice (also known as Pog Juice or liquid crack) and any other beverage if we wanted. We both stuck with juice and water.

I have to say, I was seriously impressed by the sheer variety available at the buffet. There wasn’t a single thing that either of us tried that we didn’t enjoy.

My plates:

One of B’s plate:

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 – Part 2: Betty the Disco Yeti

It was fun to get to see the characters in their safari clothes too but it did take forever!

Our server brought out an anniversary cupcake and a happy anniversary card signed by everyone. Such a sweet little touch.

As we were waiting on the characters we noticed that they were starting to bring the photos around to other families who had gotten there after us. Well that won’t do! We spoke with one of the passing CMs with the pictures and he said it wouldn’t be a big deal at all to have the pictures taken as we were leaving and to just let them know PP wasn’t up and running when we checked in. The only change was we would have to pick up the pictures at the front of the park. So in the end, it actually ended up working out nicely because we still got the pictures but didn’t have to worry about carrying them around all day. So tip, if PP is up and running when you check in, definitely get your pictures re-taken afterwards!

It was getting close to 9:30 by the time we finished up but luckily the park was still empty as we made our way to our FAVORITE ride!!!

Love the attention to detail that the sculpture matches up perfectly to Everest’s peaks!

There was absolutely to line for Everest – woohoo!!

We got put at the very back of the train in our own car – again LOVE September crowds!

Poor Betty the Disco Yeti!

We got to see the Yeti in all of its glory on our very first trip back in 2007 and it scared the begebers out of me the first time. I hope that one day Disney will be able to restore it to it’s arm sweeping glory!

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 – Part 3: Should Have Put a Ring on It!

As much as I wanted to hop right back on Everest the combination of just finishing breakfast and taking pictures during the ride did my tummy in and being on firm ground sounded like the best idea at the time. We grabbed a fastpass for later though! We decided to make our way over to the new meet and greet area from Minnie and Mickey.

We were shocked that there was absolutely no one in line. We had such a fun interaction with those two – Minnie gave Mickey quite the attitude about not having a ring on her finger – it was really cute!

We still had time to kill before the first Flights in Wonder show (it was on our First of this Trip bucket list) so we decided to explore the Maharajah Jungle Trek and it didn’t disappoint.

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5: - Part 4: Himalayan Attack Chicken

We finished up with the trek in the aviary before making our way over to the Flight in Wonder stadium.

We had no idea what to expect with the show, I hadn’t even ever read up on it, I just knew it was a good show. I have to say, it was fantastic and humorous while still portraying the message of conversation!

Our “Tour Guide” was afaid of birds and that theme ran throughout the show.

At the very beginning he had his flag stolen by one of the birds only to have it returned at the very end of the show – very cute!

Behold, the Himalayan Attack Chicken! I don’t know why this struck B and I as so funny but we still giggle about it.

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 – Part 5: They're Not Gonna Make It!

Flights of Wonder finished up shortly after our FP window for Everest was good, so that is directly where we went. Around this time, the clouds were starting to move in and I was starting to get nervous about B’s second surprise that was scheduled later that day. As much as I love the thunderstorms at Disney, I was doing an internal non-rain dance for this afternoon!

Such a gorgeous view!

Surviving the Yeti once again, we made out way over to Dinoland to take on another formidable foe!

Dinoland is one part of the park that I wouldn’t be sad if it ever went to Yesterland, its just to carnival for us.

Dinosaur is the only ride back there that we’ll do and even then I question myself as to why I subject myself to it each and every time. Scares the heck out of me!!

B surprised me with a tidbit of Disney knowledge that I hadn’t heard before. It’s hard to make out from my picture but apparently the red, white and yellow pipes running above the vehicles have the chemical make-up on them for mayo, mustard and ketchup. I haven’t fact checked but if true, totally creative on Disney’s part!

I still have yet to keep my eyes open for the entire ride but I’m getting better. Ever since B told me to picture riding through Indy from Disneyland, it’s made the ride a little less intimidating. I still hate the very end!

We made our way out of Dinoland and back towards the front of the park to head towards Africa – it was getting close to B’s surpise.

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 – Part 6: I Like to Move It, Move It

As we made our way back towards Africa, we couldn’t pass up taking pictures with my favorite Disney character!! They stepped away from the meet and greet area just as we walked up and it gave us a chance to kind of take in the surroundings. I had no idea there were lemurs right behind Dug & Russell!

Poor King Julien was missing part of his tale.

It was only a few minutes before Dug and Russell were back. Dug is my absolute favorite Disney or Pixar character and I love that they have the meet and greet in AK, I hope this one never goes away. Such a happy meet and greet!!!

Going across the front of the park also gave us a chance to snag a few PP photos at the Tree of Life.

Even though B had figured out his surprise earlier that morning, he was still excited for it!

We had done the Wild Africa Trek on our last trip in 2011 and had a phenomenal time. We had been the only 2 people on it because the other people set to come didn’t show up. When I heard they had knocked the price down for certain times, I couldn’t pass up doing it again.

We spent a few minutes getting all geared up and the CM helping me ended up being one of our guides from 2011. I remembered her but even more cool, she remembered B and I! Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to be our guide again for this trip but the CM’s who were our guides, Becky and Torin were amazing and an absolute riot!

We ended up having 6 people total in our group and it was a great group of people.

A very different experience from our first Trek and in a sense, I liked this time even more because the interactions between our guides and everyone had us giggling most of the Trek.

I will apologize now for the multitude of Wild Africa Trek updates to follow, there are just too many pictures to share from the Trek ! With the pictures from the Trek, instead of tagging each one, any picture with just animals in it were my own pictures and the ones with us in them were the pictures taken as part of the Trek.

We made our way in to the Pangani Forest Trail before getting to go backstage to the hippo enclosure.

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 - Part 7: Hippos Beg?

When we arrived at the hippo enclosure there we met one of the keepers who is in charge of the hippos and he spoke to us about the hippos as well as answered any questions we had.

They have you hook your vest up to a pully type system so you can get close to the edge of the enclosure without any danger of falling. The hippos in the pool we Hans and Henry and them opening their mouths all big and wide was them begging – it was cute but like with domestic animals, not considered a good behavior trait!

From the hippos we made our way to the first of two tall rope bridges. You go over one at a time, so there is a little bit of waiting in this area but the guides were great about answering any questions and giving us little tidbits. The first rope bridge takes you over the track of the Safari ride. You could be up on the bridge when a ride vehicle goes underneath (I wasn’t that lucky this trip).

What they caught me taking a picture of.

The second set of rope bridges takes you over the crocodiles. Totally cool and freaky at the same time. We didn’t get to see the crocodiles in 2011 because they were out for their annual vet/dental check ups so we were thrilled to see the crocodiles this time!

My view...

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 - Part 8: What Big Teeth You Have!

For as high up as the bridges are and for as not stable as they feel, neither B or I ever felt unsafe, even if we weren't attached by the vest, I would have still felt safe.

B was the last of our group to cross and Becky and Torin had some fun with him, majorly jumping on the bridge as he went across. I didn't realize I got them doing it in my picture until I was going through them after we got back, so funny!!

Like with the hippos, there was a keeper here to talk to us about the crocodiles and answer any of our questions.

Caught this guy trying to escape, hehe!

We got another group photo right outside the crocodile enclosure before heading out to our next destination.

Leaving the crocodiles meant it was time to shed our super hot vests and head in to the special vehicle to take us on to the savannah. They gave us cool towels and binoculars as well. It was on our way to the truck that Becky informed us that we had gotten SUPER lucky with regards to the weather. Apparently there had been some pretty good thunderstorms surrounding Animal Kingdom but they never came over the park – which meant no issues for our Trek. My internal "no rain dance" had worked!!

For the most part, the truck takes you to the same areas as the safari ride but you get to pull off the paths to get longer looks at the animals, which is a nice treat. You also get lots of stares and pictures from passing ride vehicles. It was comical to watch people take pictures of us instead of the animals that were on the other side of the ride.

Per Becky, the wildebeests were framed, hehe!

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 - Part 9: Jungle Juice? Yes please!!!

About halfway through the savanna is your meal stop. They take you up to a beautiful overlook where you get to spend about a half hour or so. Each person gets their own little picnic lunch and of course they had Jungle Juice (again, also known as Pog Juice and Liquid Crack)

The top layer included a curry chicken salad, fruit salad, various smoked meats and an edible orchid. Normally, I do not like curry but the chicken salad is spectacular! I wish I could find the receipt for it.

The bottom layer included sun dried tomato hummus, salmon/cream cheese rolls and shrimp. No real surprise, the sun dried tomato hummus was my favorite. Even B, who isn’t a hummus person enjoyed it.

The overlook gave us a great vantage point for the giraffes and we got to see both of the baby giraffes that were out on the savanna while we were there.

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[Disneyluvr81]

Day 5 - Part 10: It's a Wild Animal Super Highway!

On the backside of the overlook there is a 2nd viewing area and that seemed to be the wild animal super highway. Everybody came through there while we were back there.

I love that the zebras are back out on the savanna and it cracks me up that the whole reason they were gone for a couple years is because they are the bullies of the animal world. Becky equated it to a Napoleon Complex.

Once our time on the overlook was up, we were back in the truck to finish off the rest of the safari route.

It was funny, all of the animals that passed by us when we were up on the overlook were now out on the savanna with us too!

Unfortunately, the lions were not out when we went by so the cheetahs were our only big cat siting of the Trek.

The zebras were hanging out right in front of the cheetah enclosure – taunting much zebras haha!

The Trek ends in the same general as the safari ride and once getting off the truck, each participant is giving a token to decide where you would like Disney to make the donation on your behalf (since proceeds from the Trek go to the conservation fund). B and I both chose big cats. You are also given a conservation button and get to keep the water bottles given to you when the Trek started. Unlike our prior year, we were given a website to log in to for the pictures instead of having to wait for the CD to come in the mail. I really like this change.

In all, I can’t recommend this tour highly enough. It is on the expensive side, especially if Disney isn’t offering a discount but it is so fascinating and getting so close to the animals, for me is worth it. Wild Africa Trek definitely gets 5 out of 5 stars!!!

It was after 4pm by the time the Trek ended and we were both ready to get back to the Poly to freshen up – but not without one last PP picture on the way out!

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[JessM]

I love all the pictures from the Wild Africa trek, thanks for taking the time to post them!

The safari is probably my favorite ride in Disney so I've always wanted to do the Trek, hopefully some day!

 

[SuperNEMOfan]

I just found your TR! I havent been on here lately,life gets in the way. I love all your pictures from the Trek, it looks amazing. I especially enjoy your DL report as FI and I will be going there in July for honeymoon!!

I might have to hit you up with some of your must dos and such. Being an avid WDW lover going to DL is going to be a shock but we are soooo excited.

 

[Disneyluvr81]

I love all the pictures from the Wild Africa trek, thanks for taking the time to post them!

The safari is probably my favorite ride in Disney so I've always wanted to do the Trek, hopefully some day!

You're very welcome! I hope you are able to do the Trek, it really is fantastic! This past trip was actually the first time we didn't do the safari ride at all. Definitely making up for that in February!

I just found your TR! I havent been on here lately,life gets in the way. I love all your pictures from the Trek, it looks amazing. I especially enjoy your DL report as FI and I will be going there in July for honeymoon!!

I might have to hit you up with some of your must dos and such. Being an avid WDW lover going to DL is going to be a shock but we are soooo excited.

Welcome and so happy to have you following along - I have been enjoying your TR as well (I apologize for being quiet with commenting)!!! I can completely understand about life getting in the way! I am not quite sure how we are already to Thanksgiving. 2013 has been quite a blur for both DH & I!

That is awesome that you will be doing DL for your honeymoon! With getting married at the Disneyland Hotel, our first couple days of our honeymoon were at DL! Even though we go to DL often it was such a different experience being their together as husband and wife - the bride and groom ears got us sooo much attention from CM's. Would love to help you out with DL tips, etc - feel free to message me anytime!!

 

[Disneyluvr81]

Before getting in to this update, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has safe travels, great food and wonderful memories!!

Day 5 – Part 11: Free Cake? Yes, Please!

Back at the room we quickly freshened up and got ready to head back out for our dinner reservation that evening – we were on our way to Epcot for the first time this trip! It was a gorgeous early evening!

We stopped at the Pin Station so B could pin trade.

The new Starbucks location had apparently done a soft opening that morning but was closed up again by the time we got there.

We didn’t have any plans for the evening besides dinner so we leisurely made our way to the World Showcase.

Dinner tonight was in Japan at our all time favorite restaurant.

Teppan Edo is a can’t miss meal for us and the only restaurant on property we have eaten at every single one of our trips! We waited about 20 minutes from the point we checked in until we were brought back to our table. Like always, Teppan Edo did not disappoint.

I had the steak and shrimp combination.

B had the Filet Mignon.

We also received a chocolate ginger cake to celebrate our anniversary.

Dinner tonight was definitely 5 out of 5 stars. My tummy seriously gets grumbly looking at our pics from this trip, I can’t wait to be back there again in February!

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