What's in a title anyway? How about 1300 pictures? 4/15/11-> Bonus Section pt1 & 2

[MichellelovesMickey]

I know what you mean .... I love to watch my kids and then think ahead to the memories I hope I, well my husband and I, have given them.
Sorry you didn't have the chance to be there with your Dad, but you know what, I am sure he is with you all the time anyway, especially at Disney. I am sure you see him wherever you go, especially in those kids
I had to LOL at the truck driver comment, I am the daughter of a retired Teamster Steel Hauler !!! I have lived and breathed trucking
I also hate that this thing they call "work" always gets in my way of having fun

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Rob, that is the one thing I am afraid of!!! We love Animal Kingdom Lodge and Devon REALLY wants to stay there, and I wouldn't mind it, but I just KNOW that he would LOVE SAB, plus I have this thing where I want to stay at every resort on property!

I'm sure there are loyal fans of AKL that would never think of setting foot at the Beach Club but I am totally NOT one of them. We payed a visit to AKL on this trip (don't tell anybody reading this because I haven't posted it yet ) just to stop in and it was nice, but it wouldn't be my hotel of choice if the Beach Club is also an option. Stay tuned to our October Trip Report if I do one. We'll be staying there from the 22-29th. Worse comes to worse, tell Tim to ask Sean Doc what he thought of it.....he'll be there too

Rob- Thanks for checking up on the Water Pageant for me. Added it to the list for next trip!!
You had also asked about the animators class and whether a 5 yr old was old enough. My younger one was 6 when we were there and he really enjoyed it, but they'd probably get more out of it if you wait til they are a little bigger. Just remember to keep it in mind.
...Just twiddling my thumbs while waiting for day 8... Just kidding, actually I'm super busy and probably won't get back on for a couple of days!

Maybe I'll run it by Logan and see if it's something he'd like to try. I want to do it but I didn't want to push it on anybody else if they don't think they'll have fun with it. 6 more weeks and we will see

As for the Water Pageant, glad I could help. I'm always down to help out a fellow Diser For me, the best part about reading other people's trip reports is finding things I never knew were there. That's the whole reason I take so many pictures and type for hrs and hrs. I'm glad I could share!

I know what you mean .... I love to watch my kids and then think ahead to the memories I hope I, well my husband and I, have given them.
Sorry you didn't have the chance to be there with your Dad, but you know what, I am sure he is with you all the time anyway, especially at Disney. I am sure you see him wherever you go, especially in those kids
I had to LOL at the truck driver comment, I am the daughter of a retired Teamster Steel Hauler !!! I have lived and breathed trucking
I also hate that this thing they call "work" always gets in my way of having fun

My dad and I had our moments that's for sure. Heck he had his "moments" with just about everybody at one time or another. But when you're in Disney the world is a great place to live in. There's no worries and things are just always going your way. My brother was able to go down there several times with him before he passed away while I was out getting married and starting a family......you know all those fun things grown ups do I'm not saying I missed out on anything because even when things get rough, I love everything about my life and the direction it's going. I just wish I had one more good memory with him locked away. People ask me all the time why we like going to WDW so much. It's not for the rides, or the weather, or anything like that. I know fist hand how things can change in an instant and if anything ever happened to me, I want the times I had with my boys to be burned into their memories forever. I know they won't remember everything, but that just means we have to do more right?
Heck, at least they'll have some pictures to look at 30 years from now

As for living and breathing truck driving.......that smell never goes away

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Friday November 19th

Day8

Today was another one of those days where rope drop just wasn’t going to happen. It was towards the end of our vacation and we all needed a little rest. We slept in till around 10 or so and had breakfast in our room. I did my morning ritual of downloading all the previous days pictures to my laptop and checking a few out while having several cups of coffee out on the balcony while Tina surfed the net and the boys watched a little TV. Seriously, why can’t everyday life be just like this????

We met up with Brandon and his troops over at the bus stop and I swear, every day I told myself I just can’t get enough of this…….

I love hanging around there and just waiting for the busses. The resort is just beautiful and they really know how to do it up just to make you feel special. Within 2 minutes the bus showed up. Any guesses on where we were heading today?







I’ll give you a hint. Last year I swore up and down that we’d probably never go back and that would have been just fine by me.





Yep…….

I can’t wait to get back down there and hit up Animal Kingdom again! The park that really blew me away this last trip!

For whatever reason, the bus this time just seemed to take forever. I’m not sure if this is typical or not but it took over ½ to get there! Oh well, it beats driving right? 35 minutes later we were here!

The sun was warming up so we knew exactly where we wanted to go as soon as we got there so we made a B-line through the park……..

And headed down this trail with NO WAIT WHATSOEVER!

I know that I did a bad job with the flash but I only had one shot as we went through here. I’ll take a bad picture over long lines any day though! Side note, last week I showed Logan (the youngest) these next two pictures for the first time. When I asked him where I was when I took them, he knew it right away! I’m so proud of my Disney Kids!!!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

This was another time where I was thinking of all my Dis friends. I was trying to get as many quick shots in as I could without getting yelled at by the whole group for taking too long. Curse you no wait times!!!

Running around snapping pictures I totally forgot to down a poncho till we got all the way up front! I’m pretty sure the I was called some names that insulted my intelligence but I didn’t care much. One thing I did learn from this ride was to ALWAYS try out your poncho BEFORE you get on the ride. These were adult ponchos but from some El Cheapo dollar store. It covered my shirt but didn’t go past my belt!!! Oh well, too late now!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

This was the one time Tina was happy to be vertically challenged. The rest of us knew we were going to be wet……with jeans on. Looking back, the people who shared a raft with us laughed a little when we all sat down with ponchos on. They weren't laughing 1/2 way through the ride!

Tina thought it was hysterical how the rest of us were all wet…

I’m pretty sure by this point she was ready for me to put the camera down….

….but I didn’t

Such a cool ride….unless you’re wearing jeans and a very short poncho! (Even then, it’s still pretty gosh darn cool!)

 

[NateNLogansDad]

(Continued from previous page)

All this time MomMom Ginny had Austin because he was too little to ride the waves so we went out to go find them. They were checking out the monkeys and just HAD to show us each and every one of them again. Tina didn’t mind, she loves those guys! I took a few pictures and kept an eye on the time. We needed to be careful because there was another first coming up soon…..our 2 O’clock ADR!

We still had almost an hour to kill before lunch so we headed over to the Park Staple…the Tree of Life!

This was really the one thing I remembered from our original trip here back in ’09. As much as the crowds and the heat had bothered me, we all enjoyed the It’s Tough To Be A Bug show. I know I’ve said it before, but I am totally a Disney Details kind of guy and could spend a few hrs just hanging outside with the details in the tree….

 

[NateNLogansDad]

During the show they asked for no photography so I played nice, but when we left the camera came right back on!

Loved that show! If you haven’t been there to see it, I recommend it at least once. I guess it’s what you would call a 4D kind of show. Without giving any more away, I’ll leave it at that!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

By now it was right around 1:30 so we decided to head over to our next “1st” the Yak and Yeti!!!
We still had a few minutes to burn so we just took in some scenery.

They did let us in a few minutes early which was nice and our waiter was great but I didn’t want to put him on the spot with taking his picture. So instead, I walked around the restaurant and took some!

The food there was SO much better than what I had originally thought when I looked at the menu. A few of us ordered some big seafood combo thing that was absolutely delish. I really wish I had taken pictures of everybody’s dishes because we all walked out of there EXTREMELY stuffed and raving about how good the food was.
OK, please forgive me for what I am about to do. There was one thing I did take a picture of before I ate it. I know, I know….there’s a no food porn rule in my TR’s but it’s my TR and I did break the rule once in my last one also. Please divert your kids eyes. Ladies, if you are on any kind of diet, look away and hit the “Page Down” key twice on your keyboard.



Ready?







Are you Sure?

Now, if you’ve never been there I’m sure you’re saying “Oh, ummm….yea I guess that looks nice.” or “It’s just cake.”

Well, you’re wrong.

After eating whatever it was that we stuffed our faces with for the entrée, This, my friends, was pure unadulterated, chocolate bliss. Now I’m not really a chocolate lover. I like it, but not love it. I want to fly to Florida tonight, grab a slice of this cake for the plane ride, and fly home. Yea it was that good.

I miss you!

Sorry, got a little sidetracked again there. How’s about this, I’m going to go wipe the drool off of my chin while you guys hang out here for a bit. I still have about another 100 pictures to post for day 8…..but you’re going to have to wait till the next update to see some LOL

Till next time………

 

[Stefy]

Great update, again as always love all your pictures

KR is a great ride and has turned into a new favourite for us, it wasn't so much on our very first trip as we got completely soaked literally to the bone But now we love it and can't wait to ride again in the Florida heat.

Great ToL pictures, so much detail on that thing its incredible

Sounds like Yak & Yeti was a hit with everybody, did you try the fried green beans? I have heard they are delish

Looking forward to more updates

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Great update, again as always love all your pictures

KR is a great ride and has turned into a new favourite for us, it wasn't so much on our very first trip as we got completely soaked literally to the bone But now we love it and can't wait to ride again in the Florida heat.

Great ToL pictures, so much detail on that thing its incredible

Sounds like Yak & Yeti was a hit with everybody, did you try the fried green beans? I have heard they are delish

Looking forward to more updates

Kali Rapids is up there on my list of Must Do's from now on! I'm not big on getting soaked but like you said, when it gets hot that's gonna cool you off! I'd loved to do some ToL pictures in the evening when the sun goes down and with a tripod. I think they would come out really nice, what do you think?

As for the fried green beans. I did try them. They were OK but just not my cup of tea. EVEYTHING else was soooo good! I really want to go back!!!

 

[Tinkermom76]

I need to try Kali River Rapids this year!!!

I just talked my 6 year old into going to see it's tough to be a bug on our next trip, she's a big chicken

 

[Stefy]

Kali Rapids is up there on my list of Must Do's from now on! I'm not big on getting soaked but like you said, when it gets hot that's gonna cool you off! I'd loved to do some ToL pictures in the evening when the sun goes down and with a tripod. I think they would come out really nice, what do you think?

As for the fried green beans. I did try them. They were OK but just not my cup of tea. EVEYTHING else was soooo good! I really want to go back!!!

Oooh ToL photos in the evening sound good, you must try that out next time

Any future trips planned so far?

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Yes ma'am! First week of May and the last week of October!

 

[Bethislucy]

I'm not a big chocolate eater but the cake looks really good.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

I'm sure there are loyal fans of AKL that would never think of setting foot at the Beach Club but I am totally NOT one of them. We payed a visit to AKL on this trip (don't tell anybody reading this because I haven't posted it yet ) just to stop in and it was nice, but it wouldn't be my hotel of choice if the Beach Club is also an option. Stay tuned to our October Trip Report if I do one. We'll be staying there from the 22-29th. Worse comes to worse, tell Tim to ask Sean Doc what he thought of it.....he'll be there too

I hear ya! We really enjoyed AKL it is so cool to wake up to the animals everyday! Devon thought it was super cool that they had night vision goggles to use to... Have you stayed there before? Are you staying at Jambo House or Kindani? One thing about Jambo house is the layout of the resort is not the best thought out plan in my eyes!!! I didn't know Sean was going in Oct with you guys... We were actually talking about our Sept. trip a few months ago with Sean and he didn't meantion he was going? Maybe it was before he knew he was going? But him and Tim were talking about how they love the world! It was funny hearing 2 boys in their 20's talking about Disney! But yes, be sure to tell Sean to let me know your thoughts on AKL if you don't do a TR!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Awesome update Rob! I seriously have not been on Kali River Rapids in years b/c I HATE how wet you get! I may have to suck it up and get on it this trip though! I'm glad you have such a great experience at Yak & Yeti! When we were there is 2009 I was not all the impressed by it. Wonder if they made changes since then?

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I hear ya! We really enjoyed AKL it is so cool to wake up to the animals everyday! Devon thought it was super cool that they had night vision goggles to use to... Have you stayed there before? Are you staying at Jambo House or Kindani? One thing about Jambo house is the layout of the resort is not the best thought out plan in my eyes!!! I didn't know Sean was going in Oct with you guys... We were actually talking about our Sept. trip a few months ago with Sean and he didn't meantion he was going? Maybe it was before he knew he was going? But him and Tim were talking about how they love the world! It was funny hearing 2 boys in their 20's talking about Disney! But yes, be sure to tell Sean to let me know your thoughts on AKL if you don't do a TR!

Nope, never been there yet. So far, we have Beach Club 3 times, Movies, and Caribbean Beach. Sean may not have known about it. I think it all came about right around Christmas time. We're all doing DVC room so I have no idea where we will be. My family is splitting a 2 Bedroom with him, his 2 brothers, and parents. There's going to be like 5 families I think all going. The night vision goggles are absolutely on my list of things to do there! I was just busting his chops a couple weeks ago because he couldn't name anything he went on and didn't know the name of the hotel. His parents were in the room so I kept saying that I'm pretty sure he slept over at a friends house and kept any money that his parents gave him

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I'm not a big chocolate eater but the cake looks really good.

I'm going to stop in there and see if I can use a snack credit just to get a piece to walk around the park with. I'm telling you.....delicious!

Awesome update Rob! I seriously have not been on Kali River Rapids in years b/c I HATE how wet you get! I may have to suck it up and get on it this trip though! I'm glad you have such a great experience at Yak & Yeti! When we were there is 2009 I was not all the impressed by it. Wonder if they made changes since then?

I'll ask Tina where she got the good ponchos from. For $1 it's worth it if you don't want to get wet....and you can toss it or hand it off to someone else when you're done.

With Yak and Yeti, everybody was surprised at how good it was. At first i thought it was going to be like the food over in Morocco at Epcot which I am NOT a fan of at all. When it came out it looked great and had such a nice flavor to everything. We each had enough to last 2 dinners easily but it was so good we really overly stuffed our faces.

If we were going to do the TS meal plan this year, we'd make reservations again in a heart beat.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Nope, never been there yet. So far, we have Beach Club 3 times, Movies, and Caribbean Beach. Sean may not have known about it. I think it all came about right around Christmas time. We're all doing DVC room so I have no idea where we will be. My family is splitting a 2 Bedroom with him, his 2 brothers, and parents. There's going to be like 5 families I think all going. The night vision goggles are absolutely on my list of things to do there! I was just busting his chops a couple weeks ago because he couldn't name anything he went on and didn't know the name of the hotel. His parents were in the room so I kept saying that I'm pretty sure he slept over at a friends house and kept any money that his parents gave him

Yes this conversation was before Christmas, matter to fact I think we were tailgating at the 1st Phillies NLCS game in Oct when we were talking about it!

I think you will like it at AKL. Night vision goggles are a definite must! They have so much for kids to do at that resort. Make sure you get the activites schedule for the week you are there when you check in.

Is it bad that I know where Sean stayed the trip you are referring to!?!?! I'm pretty sure it was Saratoga Springs!

I'll ask Tina where she got the good ponchos from. For $1 it's worth it if you don't want to get wet....and you can toss it or hand it off to someone else when you're done.

With Yak and Yeti, everybody was surprised at how good it was. At first i thought it was going to be like the food over in Morocco at Epcot which I am NOT a fan of at all. When it came out it looked great and had such a nice flavor to everything. We each had enough to last 2 dinners easily but it was so good we really overly stuffed our faces.

If we were going to do the TS meal plan this year, we'd make reservations again in a heart beat.

Yes please do tell where Tina got the ponchos from! My hair takes FOREVER to do and I hate getting it wet if I don't have too! Wow that was such a girlie statement to make right there!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Yes this conversation was before Christmas, matter to fact I think we were tailgating at the 1st Phillies NLCS game in Oct when we were talking about it!

I think you will like it at AKL. Night vision goggles are a definite must! They have so much for kids to do at that resort. Make sure you get the activites schedule for the week you are there when you check in.

Is it bad that I know where Sean stayed the trip you are referring to!?!?! I'm pretty sure it was Saratoga Springs!

I'll grab the activities list as soon as we walk in. I do want to get the most out of our stay there and give it a fair chance. With DVC it's the cheapest place to stay so if we like it enough, we'll go definitely back.

But I do have to smack Sean around a bit. He thought he was at the Beach Club! That makes sense though because everything we described to him, he had no idea what we were talking about.

Yes please do tell where Tina got the ponchos from! My hair takes FOREVER to do and I hate getting it wet if I don't have too! Wow that was such a girlie statement to make right there!

I won't tell anybody you said that I'll ask her tonight. Right now she's in a meeting and I'm getting ready to head into work but I'll send her a message on facebook and post it here as soon as I hear anything. Who knows, I might even have another small update to post!