You can spit on Space Mountain from here! An April '13 TR UPDATED 10/19 p. 28

[MEK]

Congratulations on having your December trip booked. I know how you feel about SSR. It's one of my home resorts and I have a special fondness for it.

I really enjoyed your pictures of the view from BLT. Love how you did the edits and I especially like that one of the monorail where it does almost look like a scaled down model. Plus the blur on the edges made it really pop.

Love visiting the Poly! One of my favorite resorts to chill at.

 

[danceintherain]

I love your BOG pictures! I'm hoping by the next time we go (likely not until 2015) the crowds will be down enough we can slip in for an early lunch. No idea what the odds are on that, but it's about the only thing that makes me feel a bit better about it being so long 'til we go again.

And we went to Gaston's Tavern three or four times this past January, and never got into the main room. How dumb is that? Every time we sat down (sometimes we just grabbed a LaFou's Brew), I just automatically headed for the quieter area to the left.

Thank you! Yeah, who knows how long it will be before the crowds die down. I'm guessing it'll still be a while, but maybe in a couple years it won't be so bad.

Aww, that's a bummer! It was a cute little restaurant. Hopefully next time you go you can check out the whole place.

I think it will die down some once a year has passed (once all the AP holders have done it at least once) and again a year after the Mine Train opens (for all the people who postponed their trips until after New Fantasyland was complete). The experience is fun, but the food isn't good enough for people to decide that they're going to overlook other places in favor of it every time.

I can definitely understand where people are coming from as far as Fantasyland is concerned. Universal did an expertly themed area AND a new thrill ride, so the appeal is much broader. I knew better than to expect Disney to put an intense ride in the Magic Kingdom though.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Avatarland. I think there's a lot of thrill ride potential there. However, Disney hasn't moved forward very much on it.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Glad you loved the LM ride, it’s so cute. I get that some people give it flack for various things, but I really liked it! The themeing in that entire area is just so amazing that I am really glad that there are people out there like you who really appreciate it for what it is!

Hahah!!! I’ve never noticed that about the clock on the pinnochio float! That’s totally awesome!!

I’m so excited for MK’s new parade!! It looks absolutely amazing!!!

How awesome that you guys have your next trip booked! It’s always so tough getting back from a trip and not knowing when you’ll be going back next! Eck! Also, Disney at Christmas is so beautiful!! Definitely don’t miss the Osbourne Lights, they blew my mind!!

Ahahahahaha nice about the ministry of magic elevators, that’s great! Aaaah those pictures are amazing, love the view, I would never want to leave my room! ACK that vivid picture is absolutely beautiful!!

The poly is so pretty! It’s definitely on my top five list of resorts, I loved staying there, even if it was a super short stay! Glad you finally tried a dole whip! I have to say, I like the float the best, and when it’s pineapple and vanilla swirl!

Yes, I think the theming is what makes it so great. It doesn't have to be a major thrill ride. Sometimes the classic attractions are the best!

I know, I loved when our tour guide pointed out that little detail!

It does look awesome! I can't wait to see it.

I had a pretty good idea that I would be going back in December even before we went in April since we booked 11 months out. I've actually had Christmas trips planned the last couple of years but have had to cancel. There is no way I'm cancelling this year! I can't wait to see the Osborne Lights again...they are AMAZING!

Thank you! I am in shock that my camera took a picture like that. Love it!

I am going to have to try the float sometime...that sounds really good. Oh, and the citrus swirl that some people talk about. Soo many foods!

Loved all of your New Fantasyland updates! I, unfortunately, haven't been to WDW since January 2011, which was right before Toontown closed, so I haven't seen it yet I brought a friend with me on my last trip and she's planning on visiting me this fall sometime during my CP and she has NO clue about New Fantasyland. I can't wait to show her what all has changed and to finally see it for myself!

Also love your Poly updates! I stayed there once back in 2009 and I loved it! The next year we stayed at Beach Club and those two are tied for my favorite resort. I think my family prefers Beach Club because of its proximity to Epcot and DHS, so hopefully I can stay at the Poly again someday. You're making me really want to stay at BLT though!

Ahh, that will be so exciting to finally get to see New Fantasyland. How fun that your friend is going to come visit you. You may have mentioned this already, but when do you start your CP?

Thank you! The Beach Club is great too...we stayed at the villas in 2008. That was fun because it was in December so all of the Christmas decorations were up and because you're so close to the Yacht Club and Boardwalk we could check out those too. The decorations are the main reason why I want to go after Christmas this year! I just love them!

If you ever get the chance to stay at BLT you should definitely do it!

Great update!

Thanks!

Wow! Now I want a camera with a "vivid" setting.

I love the resorts and your resort pictures and the pictures of your view. I once saw a picture of a Dole whip where someone had used a chop stick to stabilize it -- it was probably a foot tall. But I wouldn't say you skimped on it. That's about as much as we usually take. Too many other good things to over-indulge in only one, I say.

haha, the funny thing is after I saw how that one turned out I took a few more with the vivid setting and I didn't like them as much. Oh well. It is a cool setting though!

Glad you enjoyed all the pictures. Wow, that is funny about that dole whip. It sort of reminds me of when I was in college and my friend's boyfriend got soft serve ice cream from our dorm. He put so much on his cone that people clapped. LOL.

Yay December trip!!! I love Christmas at Disney World!!

This picture is so cool! It looks like a miniature that you took a really close up photo of to make it look real. I don't know if it's the settings you used or what, but I love it!

Stunning!

What a beautiful view.

How fun that you got your first Dole Whip! They are pretty good, but you probably made the best choice by not having to stand in a long line for one. Although the line for them in WDW is NOTHING compared to the lines for them in Disneyland!!

Loved the updates!

ME TOO! It has been waaaay too long since I've been there for the holidays. I am excited!

haha, that's funny you say it looks like a miniature because I took that with the miniature setting! I really like how it turned out too.

Wasn't our view incredible?!

Yeah, part of me kind of feels like I should've gotten my first dole whip from Aloha Isle but whatever. Ohh really?! Is it that crazy at Disneyland?

Glad you enjoyed the updates!

Is it safe? Am I good? Okay, PHEW!

OMG THE TALKING ELEVATORS. I miss them so much! I can still hear, "ELEVENTH FLOOR, GOING DOWN," SO CLEARLY.

You got some great pictures! I don't think I could ever tire of looking at them. I mean, I have very similar pictures myself and I still don't think that. SO YEAH.

The Poly is so gorgeous! AHH, I've never had a dole whip, either! Even though you obviously have now, hahaha. I've been meaning to get one FOR SO LONG.

Yes, sorry you couldn't read the previous couple updates. I think you should be safe for now until you get back because I don't have any more new Fantasyland stuff until later in the week.

haha, after I posted that I had to youtube the BLT elevators. They are pretty cool.

Thank you!

Well, I think you should definitely get a dole whip on your trip!

What a view!! What a sight to see. Gorgeous!


Welcome to the dole whip club!

Thank you! It was a great view!

Congratulations on having your December trip booked. I know how you feel about SSR. It's one of my home resorts and I have a special fondness for it.

I really enjoyed your pictures of the view from BLT. Love how you did the edits and I especially like that one of the monorail where it does almost look like a scaled down model. Plus the blur on the edges made it really pop.

Love visiting the Poly! One of my favorite resorts to chill at.

Thanks! I am glad you also like SSR. I just feel like a lot of people on the DIS don't really like it which I don't get!

Thank you...I think the monorail one is another one of my favorites. I definitely had fun playing with all the different settings on my camera.

I agree about the Polynesian!

I think it will die down some once a year has passed (once all the AP holders have done it at least once) and again a year after the Mine Train opens (for all the people who postponed their trips until after New Fantasyland was complete). The experience is fun, but the food isn't good enough for people to decide that they're going to overlook other places in favor of it every time.

I can definitely understand where people are coming from as far as Fantasyland is concerned. Universal did an expertly themed area AND a new thrill ride, so the appeal is much broader. I knew better than to expect Disney to put an intense ride in the Magic Kingdom though.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Avatarland. I think there's a lot of thrill ride potential there. However, Disney hasn't moved forward very much on it.

I hope it dies down a little bit by the end of the year so I can try to get an ADR there for dinner. Heck I'd even go for lunch again. I am a pretty picky eater and I thought the food there was pretty good.

I have not seen Avatar so maybe it will make for a cool area at DAK, but when they first announced those plans I really did not want them to do an Avatarland. I still hope they don't.

 

[wdwgirl03]

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013 cont'd (part 7)

When we were done exploring the Polynesian, we headed out front to get a bus to the Animal Kingdom. Visiting DAK in the afternoon is one of our favorite activities because in our experiences it tends to clear out a lot after the parade which means it's super easy to do the major attractions (which we know there aren't many at DAK but that's OK!) pretty quickly.

There was a really interesting blog article posted on here earlier this week about the "split personality" of DAK and the ongoing debate of whether or not it's just a half day park (if you are interested, the link for that article can be found here). My initial reaction to that debate is of course it is not a half day park! As I read the blog, I think it really pinpointed why I love DAK so much. Even though we usually go to DAK in the afternoon, we generally go a couple of times each trip and I think this pretty much sums up my feelings about the park:

"Then there are the guests who walk through the front entrance expecting beauty, perfect theming, and an atmosphere they can’t get anywhere else. They’re not looking for the thrills you’d get from a ride or attraction, they’re looking for the thrill of a perfect setting, terrific theming, and a surrounding that plays with your senses perfectly. Their thrills come from visual appeal of a castle that leads to themed lands, or a huge tree that dominates the sunrise over a savanna oasis. Maybe it’s a multicolored flower or the sounds of a constant waterfall that thrill your senses to the max. What about the activity of just people-watching? For some guests these activities are just as thrilling and satisfying as a ride on Space Mountain."

Well, of course I love Dinosaur. And of course I love Expedition Everest. But every time we walk up to the gates at the Animal Kingdom I just feel really happy. I think it all starts with the music they play outside, and then once you get in, I love all of the greenery. It's just so different from the other theme parks, and probably the most relaxing and peaceful of them.



I love the Oasis and how it immediately brings you into the natural world with all of the trees, plants and of course animals!







We spent a little time wandering through the Oasis (which probably drove Emma nuts because she does not have the same love for DAK that Dad and I do!) before finally seeing the Tree of Life! The blog article mentions getting a thrill out of the visual appeal of the parks and in my opinion, the Tree of Life is almost as good as Cinderella Castle. That is how much I love it.



(playing with my vivid setting again!)


So anyway, we checked out the attraction board. I think it had a 20 minute wait posted for the safari so we headed over there first. But once we got there, the wait was actually longer than that (I want to say 40 minutes). We still ended up waiting because we know how Disney can sometimes pad the wait times and you really don't end up waiting that long. Well, not so much this time. I do think we ended up waiting close to 40 minutes. In fact, we got to see a part of the queue that I honestly don't ever remember seeing before.



That was definitely interesting. Oh well, I still love the safari and if we had to wait a little longer, whatever. It is a thrill to me getting to see all of the animals out on the savanna, and this safari didn't disappoint.

We started off getting to see a black rhino.




Then we saw these guys (which I can't remember what they're called!).






Surprisingly, there was a hippo out of the water!






Then we entered the savanna, which is always my absolute favorite part of the ride! Going back to the whole "thrill" thing, where else can you see some of these animals THAT close (well...maybe the San Diego Zoo? Which BTW I would love to go there some day too!)?! That to me is pretty thrilling!





Seeing the giraffes is always thrilling to me. I love them!




One of the things I was most looking forward to this trip was getting to see the zebras that were added to the end of the attraction where they used to have the Little Red stuff. So I was pretty disappointed when I found out they removed them after only a little while (I honestly thought it was some sort of joke). But out on the savanna, kind of out in the distance, I spotted a couple of them! That was a nice surprise!



(cont'd in next post...)

 

[wdwgirl03]

My other favorites are the elephants! I was hoping to see the baby elephants but no such luck today.









Some white rhinos.


The cheetah was walking around!


Again, I'm not sure what this is...a bontebok??


One of my all-time favorite safari memories was a couple years ago when Claire and I got some really great views of both the male and female lions. So now every time we go on the safari, I am praying that we'll get to see them again. Would they be out today???
















YES!

The female was out laying on one of the rocks.




When we rounded the corner we could also see the male!




AWESOME!!!!!

To end the safari, we got a nice look at the newest additions, aka zebra replacements...the addax!





They were pretty cool to see because I had never even heard of addax before. The sad thing is I don't know if they're even there anymore because I think I heard they were having some issues with them too. Does anybody know? Claire said that when they went they didn't get to see them and that was only a week later!

Our safari was a great way to start off our afternoon!

up next: Would we get to ride Expedition Everest in the dark???

 

[WDWaddictt]

Great update...we enjoy DAK as well. It feels so relaxing.

Do you know why they are having problems in that area, zebras and the other animal (lol I forgot the name)?

 

[OhMari]

Love how you played around with your camera for those cool shots. I remember when you posted those on Facebook, I wondered how you did that.

I was looking at airline prices today for Nov/ Dec. and everything went up from last Tuesday. I hate how the airlines plays around with pricing. Air Tran and SouthWest was suppose to have this big sale for one way flights for $59. You had to fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The only $59 flight was from here to Minneapolis. It is such false advertising. I found flights for $145 one way and now everything is up to $189. I got a pin for free dining with weeks into all of Fall and into December.

 

[jecskc]

Trouble with the zebras and now trouble with the addax ?? The safari is cursed, I tell ya !!

You did get some good lion photos !!

AK is such a wonderfully photographic park. The themeing is amazing and there are so many details.

 

[peachmermaid]

Wow, what a nice safari ride! I love the giraffes, they are so pretty. I don't spend a lot of time in AK but I think I'm going to next time. Or go after the parade! Good tip.

 

[jwwi]

Great safari pictures Sarah, I love the lions, and it is great to see them out more often. I didn't comment on your other pictures, the ones with the special settings. They are both so beautiful. It sure looks like you had a great time on your trip.

 

[marDgreen88]

We're totally on the same page here with the Animal Kingdom thing! It's such an amazing park that is unlike anything else out there! AHH it's so perfect. Every time I hear about someone going to Disney and not going to Animal Kingdom, I truly can't even fathom that. ANYWAYS. Looks like it was a great safari! Seeing the lions is the coolest thing!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi there Sarah! I didn't even put the obvious together that you were staying at BLT - one of my very favorite resorts!!! (Ha, the speaking elevators with the lady's voice.. I space on that since I expect it after having stayed there so many times! I definitely like to stay above the 5th floor!)

Can you believe that I have been to AK probably 7 or 8 times and have NEVER been on the safari?? And I think the animals are so amazing... I definitely need to rectify that next time.

I love your photos from your BLT balcony with the various settings. The one with the monorail coming beside the one leaving makes it look like they are racing. Great effect! The vivid one is so cool too.

Ahhh WISHES from your balcony... so awesome!!!

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Sarah, I still have to finish getting caught up, but I just wanted to jump in now to say that I'm here and definitely looking forward to getting caught up!!

 

[khertz]

Yeah, part of me kind of feels like I should've gotten my first dole whip from Aloha Isle but whatever. Ohh really?! Is it that crazy at Disneyland?

It was actually kind of hilarious because it looked like a REALLY long line for the Tiki Room, so DH or I commented it must be more popular in DL because it is still the complete original show. Then DH went to take DS to see the Tiki Room while I went on Indiana Jones, and he realized it was just a SUPER LONG LINE for Dole Whips!!! We NEVER saw it short in both of the 4 day trips we took to DL last year.

Almost forgot to comment on the updates...!

We are AK lovers too. I am actually getting a little anxious thinking we don't have enough time for it next trip! We love just walking around and taking in the sights and animals and doing the character greets just as much as riding the attractions!

 

[Jennifer48]

Wow you have such great Lion luck on the safari!

 

[elfling8]

I'm enjoying all the pictures. I very much wish we had more time to do AK. Maybe some day!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hi Sarah! I'm here and going back to get caught up and commenting.

 

[shalom]

Wow, what great Safari pics! I didn't even bother taking any because I knew they'd be awful; my camera's worthless when I'm on anything moving. But thankfully, people here on the Dis make up for that.

Thanks for that link! What I found interesting about that article was the division between people who go to theme parks for the thrill rides and those who go for the atmosphere. As someone solidly in the atmosphere camp, I agree that we're in the minority, but disagree that most people are there for the thrill rides and don't see much difference between theme parks and amusement parks. I think a fair percentage of the people who're there for the rides still pick up on the themeing and appreciate the difference. The ones who don't appreciate that difference usually hate the WDW parks and stick with Universal or Six Flags, in my experience, because the WDW parks don't have as high a percentage of thrill rides AND are kind of a pain if you're there for the thrills, because the rides you'd want are so spread out! Disneyland is the one pure thrill seekers prefer, seems to me.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Okay, I'm all caught up.

Don't you love being so close to the Magic Kingdom? It was my favorite thing about staying in Bay Lake Tower. We didn't book a theme park view, but we got one by accident anyway.

I too have completed the DVC cycle. And I'm so looking forward to the GF Villas opening!

Spotting other people with ME tags at the airport is tons of fun.

Oooohhh....call me texts from Mom. They never bode well. Glad that it was just the battery on the car.

There is a Chick Fil A in Racine......not sure how close you are to there. It's semi close to me, but I've still never been. LOL.

Walking to the Magic Kingdom is definitely one of the best things about staying at the Contemporary.

I'm super excited to see the new Tangled bathrooms.

I love that the 7am EMH look more like it's night because the sun hasn't come out quite yet. Hehehe.

You are correct, pictures definitely don't do New Fantasyland justice. It's so amazing in person.

Hahahaha, poke Ahontas. That ones pretty good.

Good idea, getting fastpasses for the Little Mermaid and then getting in line for lunch. The lines there for lunch always seem to be crazy.

Mmmm...Croque Monsieur. They serve that all over Disneyland Paris, so I was super excited when I saw they were going to have it in BOG for lunch.

I do remember when the Little Mermaid came out on DVD and the ride concept was shared. I thought it was so cool too, so when they announced it, I was so excited!

Yay, dole whip! I like the pineapple / vanilla swirl myself.

 

[MEK]

OK - I am SO jealous of your lion safari pictures. The lions are NEVER out when I tide Safari. If they are they become as flat as a pancake so there's no way I can take their picture.

I am a big AK fan, too. No way is it a half-day park. Plus I love the AK parade. It's really awesome. I love to take pictures and no other park works quite as well for pictures as the Animal Kingdom.