"We're keeping the moon!" Another Nikki and Tom Adventure! TR link PG. 37!!

[disneybarbie]

Hi Nikki, looked like a really fun evening in Epcot - perfect start to your trip

That margerita you had looked so pretty.. I'll have to look out for it in August or October this year!


Emma x

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I am really surprised you were able to make it to Illuminations with your headache and stomachache. Of course, now I'm wondering if you got any sleep. I'm hoping you did!! Can't wait to hear about the trek!!

I read about the red stag lemonade being on fife & drum's permanent menu. I'm so excited! My DH loves red stag so he'll enjoy having another drink to try (because we can't find ANYTHING yummy at Epcot )

My ailments weren't actually THAT bad but they were just THERE, if you know what I mean. I think it helped to have so many distractions. If I was home doing nothing it probably would've been worse.

Seems like a fun day. But I can understand how your body was starting to complain.

It was really fun, despite the sickness.

I'm glad that they had the Mango 'Rita at the other location! And how awesome that they put the pomegranate shot in it to make it pretty.

I love queso fundido, and I would also be disappointed if it only had that amount of chorizo on it. But, if it was flavorful, then I guess it's okay.

I'm sorry about the headache and generally not feeling well. Good job making it through the day though. I don't know if I would have been able to.

That rita was the best surprise! It made me so happy! Hahaha!

Stephanie and I kept warning him he's going to regret it later!! It was the kind of thing that tasted SOOOO good but you knew if you ate too much of it, it could be bad! Tom was a little drunk to understand that at the time so we tried to warn him!


HAHAHAHAHA -- Been there/done that!!!!!!

What in the world is on top of the funnel cake -- at first I thought it was cheese and then butter (gag) but I am guessing ice cream? OMG! Beer and ice cream!

Hahaha! It's ice cream on that funnel cake but it totally looks like butter!

DH and I always stop at various QS locations to get ice water, they always give it for free. I think we bought 1 bottle of water our entire trip last year.

I give you credit for trucking through and consuming alcohol with a headache/stomachache. You still looked so happy.

I never thought to get water from a QS location. It was great! I'll definitely be doing it again!

Hi Nikki, looked like a really fun evening in Epcot - perfect start to your trip

That margerita you had looked so pretty.. I'll have to look out for it in August or October this year!

Emma x

It was a great day/night!! The pomegranate shot made it look sooo pretty and it made it taste great too!

 

[ortholablady]

Hi Nikki! Looks like fun so far despite how you were feeling! I started my TR too (barely). Things have been a little crazy. My father decided to move from NY to NC while I was away. Kind of a long story. My mom passed away in May and Dad hasn't been dealing with it well. But I've been left to go through all their personal stuff and it took forever. I will get an update in there soon. Is there an easier way to post pics without going back and forth to photobucket for every one? I took alot and it seems like there must be an easier way.

 

[Nermel9]

OMG I hope we are in Disney at the same time sometimes, you and Tom look like you would be SO much fun to go around the World Showcase with!

Ugh, I'm with you on the hill before the Land being obnoxiously long and steep...it always seems like such a long walk to get there from anywhere in the park, and then you have that loooong hill!

Yay for your mango 'rita! And the pomegranate liquor added sounds awesome! And it's so pretty! I don't really like frozen 'ritas, but I might have to try one of those in May!

I love to just wander around and take the long way out after Illuminations, it's so nice once it clears out, and I love soaking up every bit of Epcot that I can!

 

[SRUAlmn]

I love it! You two tour like us! A lot of snacking and drinking with a few rides thrown in here and there Can't wait to read more


Oh, PS, as a fellow teacher....SOOO jealous that you were able to go during a season that wasn't either PACKED or HOT!

 

[Zuzu03]

Your first day looked like so much fun!!!! I love that you got your Mango'rita!!! I haven't tried that yet, but may just have to in April! And I'm jonesing for those chips right now!!! Yum!!!!!

 

[anjalee6]

I'm totally jealous that you are able to drink that much at Disney. With our little ones, that just isn't possible anymore. I will live through you as you drink around the world.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I'm totally jealous that you are able to drink that much at Disney. With our little ones, that just isn't possible anymore. I will live through you as you drink around the world.

As a mother of two, I can tell you it is possible

 

[anjalee6]

As a mother of two, I can tell you it is possible

That is hilarious! Maybe I need some pointers. I am out of practice when it comes to multitasking.

 

[ronnmel]

Such a fun night! You seemed to have made the best of it despite not feeling great.

 

[jenseib]

I think I would've been falling down giggley drunk with all those drinks.
I'm not so young anymore. And Tom can really pack the food in...my kind of guy...except how does he stay so skinny?

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Hi Nikki! Looks like fun so far despite how you were feeling! I started my TR too (barely). Things have been a little crazy. My father decided to move from NY to NC while I was away. Kind of a long story. My mom passed away in May and Dad hasn't been dealing with it well. But I've been left to go through all their personal stuff and it took forever. I will get an update in there soon. Is there an easier way to post pics without going back and forth to photobucket for every one? I took a lot and it seems like there must be an easier way.

Oof, sounds like you are going through a lot! I keep photobucket open in a separate window and yes, I do just go back and forth. I'll have to find your TR!!

OMG I hope we are in Disney at the same time sometimes, you and Tom look like you would be SO much fun to go around the World Showcase with!

Ugh, I'm with you on the hill before the Land being obnoxiously long and steep...it always seems like such a long walk to get there from anywhere in the park, and then you have that loooong hill!

Yay for your mango 'rita! And the pomegranate liquor added sounds awesome! And it's so pretty! I don't really like frozen 'ritas, but I might have to try one of those in May!

I love to just wander around and take the long way out after Illuminations, it's so nice once it clears out, and I love soaking up every bit of Epcot that I can!

It would be so fun if we were there at the same time! Ugh that hill!!

You really should try the mango rita. It might be my favorite thing ever!

I love it! You two tour like us! A lot of snacking and drinking with a few rides thrown in here and there Can't wait to read more

Oh, PS, as a fellow teacher....SOOO jealous that you were able to go during a season that wasn't either PACKED or HOT!

Snacking and drinking is the best way to do it!! Hahaha! I am really lucky I was able to take those personal days. Like you, most of my trips have been in summer.

Your first day looked like so much fun!!!! I love that you got your Mango'rita!!! I haven't tried that yet, but may just have to in April! And I'm jonesing for those chips right now!!! Yum!!!!!

We really did have a great first day. You MUST try the mango 'rita! It's magical.

I'm totally jealous that you are able to drink that much at Disney. With our little ones, that just isn't possible anymore. I will live through you as you drink around the world.

As a mother of two, I can tell you it is possible

That is hilarious! Maybe I need some pointers. I am out of practice when it comes to multitasking.

Hahaha!! We know full well that when we have children, our touring style will change drastically. But I will NOT completely eliminate the 'ritas!

Such a fun night! You seemed to have made the best of it despite not feeling great.

Yeah it really was a shame I wasn't at my prime but I wasn't feeling TOO too bad.

I think I would've been falling down giggley drunk with all those drinks.
I'm not so young anymore. And Tom can really pack the food in...my kind of guy...except how does he stay so skinny?

First of all, as much as he'd love the compliment, Tom would not consider himself skinny! He's gained 30 pounds since our wedding 2 years ago!! We both hide our chubby parts really well! Haha!

Keep in mind, we spaced those drinks out over like 9 hours! Tom was a little drunker than I've normally seen him in Epcot but not smashed.

 

[hlrababy]

I'm here girl!! A little late, but here!

 

[stasijane]

Hey! I'm glad to hear about the reg stag lemonade. I didn't get to try it during the food and wine festival last year and was pretty bummed. I gota say though, thats how I love to tour Epcot too!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I'm here girl!! A little late, but here!

Hey Heather! I'm glad you're here....you're not too late!

Hey! I'm glad to hear about the reg stag lemonade. I didn't get to try it during the food and wine festival last year and was pretty bummed. I gota say though, thats how I love to tour Epcot too!!

Oh you definitely have to try it on your next trip!

 

[Zuzu03]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is Red Stag? I feel stupid, but I have no idea what it is and neither does DH - like he says, as much as he's experimented with alcohol, he's still in the shallow end of the pool! hahahahaha! And I'm still in the kiddie pool!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is Red Stag? I feel stupid, but I have no idea what it is and neither does DH - like he says, as much as he's experimented with alcohol, he's still in the shallow end of the pool! hahahahaha! And I'm still in the kiddie pool!

Actually, I don't really know! It's Jim Bean, I know that. All I know is that the drink is frozen and tastes like lemonade.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 2 Thursday February 2, 2012

Well let's back track a little to the night before....

To recap, I hadn't slept much the night before and we were on our way to the airport by 5:30am.

On top of that, I wasn't feeling my best on arrival day so by the tie dinner rolled around, as much as I was thrilled to be in Epcot and happy to be hanging out with Stephanie, I couldn't wait to get into bed!

So we get back to the room and I put in a wake up call for 6am. Why so early? We were doing the Wild Africa Trek the next morning at had to BE at AK by 7:45am.

So I turn on the tv and sit on my heating pad to try to relieve some of the sciatica pain. I remember closing my eyes and starting to drift off so I got up and unplugged the heating pad because I didn't want to fall asleep with it on.

But when I got back in bed, I couldn't fall asleep!!! AGAIN, my head was spinning, my heart was racing...I was having another freakin' anxiety attack like I did on my last trip!

Again, it's when I have to be up early for something the next morning. I just couldn't understand it though because I hadn't really slept the night before so how could it be that I'm up AGAIN! It didn't bother me as much as it did the first time it happened on our last trip because at least this time I knew what it was. I just kind of did the best I could and I think I did end up sleeping a little bit off and on but I know that by the time it was 5:30, I just got out of bed because it wasn't worth trying anymore....

Here are some pics I took that morning from the balcony...

Then I took a shower and went back out to take some pics of the sunrise...

Fortunately, my headache and nausea was completely gone so that was good! I just felt all weird from lack of sleep. Surprisingly, I didn't feel tired at all, just....weird. And scared because....what the hell? All of a sudden, I have anxiety? Not cool.

Anyway, we were up and ready and on our way out by around 7. The sun still wasn't fully up yet!

When we got to AK, it was EMPTY!

Security bag check...

When I walked through with my hipster, the security guy actually said, "Ah, first Vera of the day!"

After we went through bag check, we king of hung around in front of the turnstiles because they weren't letting anyone in yet....

Seriously, NO ONE was there!

While we were waiting, a castmember came out to check us in for our tour. She went through all the rules and terms and conditions, had us sign a waiver, checked our addresses and advised us to use the bathroom one more time because we wouldn’t have the chance to again in a while! They also checked to make sure we were all wearing closed-toed shoes. One woman had sandals on and they assured her that they would find her a pair of sneakers, which they did!

Once we were all checked in, we were told to enter through the turnstiles and meet up again in Africa. On the way in, I stopped for a quick picture on the bridge to Africa with Expedition Everest in the background!

Once we all met up again near the Dawa Bar in Africa, we were whisked through a gate and led just short way down to the area where they set us up with our gear!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

This is also where we met our guides. We went around to the back of this hut where we found our lockers. We were told we could only bring what we could carry and any cameras either had to be strapped to the wrist or worn around the neck. Everything else would have to be stowed.


After we locked our belongings away, we were weighed (completely privately) and given our vests. The guides were so great about gearing us up, I honestly don’t even remember everything they did! There were straps going around the top of each leg and the vest itself was quite heavy. We were also given water bottles, which we were told to fill from the water cooler. The last thing we were given was an earpiece so that we could hear our guides talk about what we were seeing as we walked.

We were then led to a practice bridge so we could get a feel for what the rope bridges on the tour would be like. If we could make it across this without any trouble, we would be fine.

After going over the practice bridge, we were given some Jungle Juice.

While we drank our juice, the three guides came over and officially introduced themselves. One would be speaking, one would be taking pictures and one was following along to learn from the others, which they often do. It was also at this point that they reminded us that they would be taking pictures throughout the tour and we would receive a disc of all the photos included in the price of the tour.

We walked back up to the Dawa Bar and before entering Africa, we stopped for a couple of group shots.

We were told to do an animal shot. Everyone went with some sort of tiger or something....I went monkey!

We walked through the actual park itself for just a few minutes, starting in Africa and going into the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail where we passed a few animals and walked through the aviary, all the while the guide was giving us information on what animals we were seeing.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Up to this point, we were seeing all things that could be seen by any park guest but before I knew it, we had veered into the forest and were walking through a wooded trail. When we emerged into a clearing, we were joined by a man who was there to tell us about the hippos. At this point, we were also hooking ourselves in so that we could stand on the edge of the hippo enclosure without any wall or fence in front of us.

The hippo was laying very peacefully for a few minutes while the guide told us a little about their behaviors.

After a few minutes, he threw a head of lettuce close to the hippo. At first it seemed like he didn’t care but slowly, he lifted his head and pulled himself up to have his snack. After he ate the lettuce he meandered over to where we were standing. It seemed all very routine to the hippo!

More please!

After our visit with the hippos, it was back through the woods until we came to another clearing where we encountered the first of a series of rope bridges. Now they said if we could cross the practice bridge in the beginning, the rest of the bridges would not be a problem. Well these bridges were a HUGE difference! First of all, they were a lot longer, which made them way shakier. They were also very high off of the ground and the planks seemed very far apart at times. They were very cool looking, though!

The guide with the camera crossed first and also served as the example for what we were to do in order for the other guide to get us strapped in.

We crossed one at a time and once each person was a good length down, the guide would tell the next person to go.

Looking down…..

Just has I was crossing, this giant bird swooped down and perched right next to me. I froze and slowly pulled up my camera to get this shot. I love that you can see another guest crossing the next bridge.