"You Can't Make Disney Your Permanent Residence." COMPLETE! 10/21 x 2

[dawnmichele]

But best of all there are Tigers. And they were out. And pacing around.

This tiger kept circling around the water structure.

Once more around.

On one hand I know this is too many tiger pictures, but on the other (stronger) hand, I can’t help it. Just one more and then I’ll move on to obsess on some other part of the Maharajah.

These flags though.

I found another tiger.

This one is sleeping underneath a portrait of himself, or maybe an ancestor. It’s hard to tell.

Up Next: Still with the photos.

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[dawnmichele]

Here come more flags.

How could I not take too many pictures of stuff like this?

Oh my goodness! Look at this baby!!

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[dawnmichele]

Check out this bird’s hair-do.

Well that’s over. But uh oh, it looks like I’m about to go on another safari!

I did. Here’s a rhino.

I always find it funny when I spot humans on the safari. I’d like to be in a group like that some day.

This giraffe is a baby.

Here’s a momma and a baby.

I like to think this is a granny, a momma and a baby but I really have no idea.

It became clear it was nap time on this safari.

Still, I got a great glimpse of the sleeping cheetahs.

And this lion? LOVE.

After the safari I was hungry but I knew I had a great dinner planned for that night so I just wanted a little snack. I had no idea what to get -- until I heard a lady yell out -- “What? I don’t want no edamay!” Edamame! Perfect snack. I looked around where she was and found a little cart.

Up Next: Let's check out Dinoland!


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[dawnmichele]

I got in line to meet safari Mickey and Minnie, and had a nice chat with a little kid about what I was eating. But the line wasn’t moving at all, so I bailed and went to meet Pooh and Tigger instead.

I think Tigger liked my shirt.

I don't know why Eeyore wasn't there but it was just those two. Please don't think I'd ever skip poor Eeyore. He doesn't need another reason to feel bad about himself.

There are so many great views around this lake.

I guess the edamame wasn’t quite filling enough, because I had to have one of these when I passed the cart! It’s the little cart just before you head into Dinoland, do you know which one I mean? It’s where I had my first Mickey bar and it seems I get a bar from there every time I visit the Animal Kingdom.

This was my third visit to Disney World since the Animal Kingdom existed, and still somehow I had walked around Dinoland U.S.A. I am not sure why. I guess I thought seemed like a lame concept and there was enough other stuff to look at that I just avoided it. I was never there with anyone else who was interested in checking it out. On my own, I felt like looking around - and I’m so glad I did. I agree that the games you have to pay for are lame, but some of it is really cute.

When I took this picture I had no idea this ride would turn out to be one of our absolute favorite family rides.

Up next: More Dinoland.


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[dawnmichele]

Hey cute dinosaur!

It looks like I’m on the way out. You can take a deep breath now.

Someone was getting married.

I had never been inside the Animal Kingdom Lodge before. I was stunned by it’s beauty.

I found my dinner companions, but decided to let them keep talking at the bar while I checked out some more of the lodge.

I love this tower with the metal ivy winding up it.

Up next: More of the Lodge and dinner at Boma


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[dawnmichele]

It was time to meet up with my family and check in for dinner at Boma!

I don’t remember a lot about this dinner. I wasn’t wowed, but I liked it ok. I spent more time talking with Brian and Adriane than I did thinking about the food, but here are some food pictures.

This was Brian's plate, full of food.

This was my first plate - lots of hummus and cold salads. This was my favorite plate. I loved the hummus and that pasta salad.

The soup - I can't even remember if it was the butternut squash or the carrot (lame, I know), but I do remember I didn't love it.

I wasn't really in love with any of these desserts either (not even the zebra domes!) which was really weird.

We were sitting by a table of girls who had just graduated from their Disney College Program! I remember being impressed and hoping that would be me sometime! And it will, at the end of may .

After dinner, we went to check out the pool there, and decided to soak his feet for a while.

We made it back to the room just in time to watch Wishes from the balcony.

Adriane had bought Brian a book filled with fun Disney World facts, and before bed we had fun listening to Brian read us fun facts.

It was a great end to a great day!!


​

 

[sue_88]

First off, a thousand "congrats!!!!" on you DCP acceptance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I certainly applaud you for your following through on being proactive to achieve your dreams.
I do hope to hear about your experience in detail.

I was so happy to find all of your solo AK day to read about today. And I just want to say that the photos were extra special. I could actually feel my heart beat slow as I savored each scene. I really felt like I was there. And of course, I really wish I was!

Quite a few years ago I was planning a DW trip and had already made my resort reservations at a popular moderate. A cast member called me and said that they had to call every guest who was staying there and give them other offers because Disney had decided to refurbish that moderate resort and it would not be available during my vacation. I was given several choices of resorts to change to and the price I had already paid would not change. I was excited that Animal Kingdom Lodge was a choice! So, I did stay there once with my sister, nephew and niece. It was a great place to stay. And I enjoyed your photos.

I am really considering BLT for a future trip. Sorry to hear the bus service there is not great. Would it be any better to walk to Contemporary's bus stop? Or is that too far?

I'm so jealous that you will be in Florida much of the winter! That has got to be a great feeling.

 

[dawnmichele]

First off, a thousand "congrats!!!!" on you DCP acceptance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I certainly applaud you for your following through on being proactive to achieve your dreams.
I do hope to hear about your experience in detail.

Thank you so much!! Sometimes when I think back on the all the days I spent daydreaming about doing this (and looking at people's instagram and reading people's blogs and watching their vlogs) I can't even believe it's real life!

I leave in less than a month now. How crazy is that! I do plan on sharing as many details as I can stuff in although here on the disboards I'm just planning to keep a dining report (I have at least one reservation every week I'm there. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep them all but man am I going to try!)

I have registered a domain name at oldladycollegeprogram.com. There's nothing there yet, but I'm hoping to put up something basic before Christmas and planning to link to everything else there so people who are interested can just check one place for all the info. Here are links to what I've got going so far:

Blog at oldladycollegeprogram.com/blog
YouTube here (I have a few up already!)
And Instagram, where I will probably post way too many pictures.
I also have a twitter but I don't know how much I'll use it, and I plan to post all my favorite photos on my regular flickr.

Sorry if that's already more than you wanted to know!

I was so happy to find all of your solo AK day to read about today. And I just want to say that the photos were extra special. I could actually feel my heart beat slow as I savored each scene. I really felt like I was there. And of course, I really wish I was!

Man I really loved that day. The pace of it was just amazing. Sometimes my favorite thing to think about about doing the DCP is spending days off at the AK and riding the safari over and over and over again.

I am really considering BLT for a future trip. Sorry to hear the bus service there is not great. Would it be any better to walk to Contemporary's bus stop? Or is that too far?

BLT and Contemporary share a bus stop, and maybe that's the problem. I didn't try to take the bus any other time, so maybe that was just a rare bad experience. I hope so, because BLT is AMAZING!!

I'm so jealous that you will be in Florida much of the winter! That has got to be a great feeling.

Seriously! Escaping Kansas winter was one of the first things that made me think I might want to do this -- and I think about it every time it's under 40 degrees here. Or on these dark, cloudy, sad days - I'm about to move to the sunshine state!

Thanks for reading, and replying! I appreciate it so much!
Like everyone else, I'm about to get crazy with holiday celebrations, but I'm planning a fast finish up to this report asap!

 

[murmkc]

I can't wait to do this all over again! This December!

 

[murmkc]

You still have not finished this one yet? Wow!

 

[dawnmichele]

So yeah. I’ve left this unfinished.

Since this trip, I’ve gone to Disney on vacation with my family twice (April and October of 2014), and lived at Disney World doing the Disney College Program from January to May of this year. My family (a group of 7) is getting ready for our next trip to Disney starting the day after Thanksgiving.

I could leave this report unfinished of course, but it’s so close to complete! 2 more days. And I have more pictures I want to show you. Plus I took good notes so they posts are almost written. But mostly I want to talk about Disney some more. As my next trip gets closer the more my thoughts are filled with the park.

So here we go...


So, day 14. Not even kidding - day 14. I woke up feeling like a kid who moved into the candy store. Brian, Adriane and I were headed for the Magic Kingdom that day. It was one of those Orlando in December mornings where we I was sure I’d be freezing all day, and then the sun came out and it was super warm. If you haven’t been to the parks in the winter before, watch out for that. It’s tricky.

Characters were out around the flag pole when we got there. I don’t think my brother had ever been there that early because he was surprised to see them.

I was wearing my Mary Poppins with the Tardis shirt, so I headed right over to her line. It was kinda long so they had time to go into Tony’s Town Square for autographs from the dogs while I waited. Adriane was adorable. She loves those dogs and was as excited about their autographs as I get meeting Buzz or whoever.

Mary was fantastic. She asked me where I was from and if I had gotten there with by my umbrella. I told her I thought that was a special skill unique to her. She told me it was really all up to the umbrella. And then we talked about the Tardis and Doctor Who. I told her there was some speculation she was also a Time Lord and she acted like she had never heard of such a thing. Me? I like mixing fandoms, but I think that might be a bit much.

I love it when people take pictures of me talking to characters, because I get so into it, it’s hilarious. Thanks to Adriane for shooting these.

Mary and I convinced Brian and Adriane to come join us for some photos when another guest offered to take the pictures for us.

We had a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain so we headed that way.

I decided to take too many pictures on the ride. Here come 9.

Our next pass was at Haunted Mansion so we headed that way.

Adriane and I checked out Rapunzel’s Tower, which is gorgeous. I also ducked into her potty station to take off my undershirt. It was already getting hot by that time.

Next up: Exploring the Rivers of America on the Liberty Bell

 

[dawnmichele]

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[disfanforlife]

Did you enjoy your DCP? My DD was there in the DCP the same time as you!

 

[dawnmichele]

Did you enjoy your DCP? My DD was there in the DCP the same time as you!

I loved it so much! Recently someone laughingly asked me if it was all I dreamed it would be, and after I thought a minute I had to say "Yes!" It was hard and I missed home and it was sometimes frustrating, but the experiences I had and the friends that I made outweighed any of that so much.

Did you daughter enjoy it? Where did she work?

 

[disfanforlife]

I loved it so much! Recently someone laughingly asked me if it was all I dreamed it would be, and after I thought a minute I had to say "Yes!" It was hard and I missed home and it was sometimes frustrating, but the experiences I had and the friends that I made outweighed any of that so much.

Did you daughter enjoy it? Where did she work?

I would say that my DD felt similar to the way you did. It wasn't all that she dreamed it would be. But, the friends and experiences that she had with them made it all worthwhile. She worked at ESPN on the Boardwalk.

 

[dawnmichele]

I had never ridden on the Liberty Belle before, so we decided to ride it around the Rivers of America.

You know what that boat floats you by? Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Uh-oh. It's just so gorgeous I can't help myself.

Ok! More than enough of that!

There's my brother and sister-in-law, checking out the view.

I enjoyed it way more than I expected.

 

[dawnmichele]

I would say that my DD felt similar to the way you did. It wasn't all that she dreamed it would be. But, the friends and experiences that she had with them made it all worthwhile. She worked at ESPN on the Boardwalk.

I'm glad she liked it!
I worked very close to the Boardwalk, at the back exit of Epcot. I loved my location.

 

[dawnmichele]

After the boat tour, I split up from my family and headed off on my own. I had some things to do in Fantasyland.​

I passed Lady Tremaine and this unlucky little girl. I wondered what kind of trouble she was about to be in and was happy to pass them by to visit a much more pleasant person.​

I had a fastpass to meet Ariel.​

We talked about what she was doing on my shirt. And then posed for a picture.​

The Dwarf's Mine Train was still being built at the time. I liked to take pictures of the progress.​

I was so happy to see the Vulture’s from the Snow White ride survived to be used again on the rollercoaster!​

I came across the Main Street Band playing in the circus area. I think one of the best parts of staying so long on this trip was feeling free to lazily wander the parks - which led to awesome accidents like this. When you’re not rushing from attraction to attraction, you have a chance to discover so much stuff!

I wanted to take a bunch of pictures of Dumbo, I joined the queue.​

Another ride where dancing is prohibited.

That silly Goofy.

Mine Train progress from the top of Dumbo.

Too many Dumbo pictures? Probably. But what did expect here?​

I left the Circus to head for lunch!

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[dawnmichele]

I was having lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern!

I had eaten there once before, with my family, and tried the Freedom Pasta. I was really looking forward to trying the salad - and of course the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake.

The menu and the magical Disney Parks napkin.

The restaurant was pretty empty. The service wasn’t so great even still, but the food was so good I didn’t regret choosing it

They have some tasty iced tea, and if you want you can buy one of the (plastic) glasses to take home.


http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/af66/shellybrewer/disney13day14/_DSC0378.jpg

This Colony Salad was so delicious. Yummy lettuce with pecans, apples, cheddar, dried cranberries and grilled chicken. Incredibly good. If you like salads you need to try it.

Easily one of the best desserts in Disney. A warm cake, a scoop of ice cream, sprinkles of toffee and warm melty sauce. It's amazing.

At Christmas time, there are gingerbread houses and creations all over the park. This one was in the lobby of the restaurant.


I decided to take the train around to the front of the park, and then head over to Hollywood Studios.

I have never met these two! I thought about doing it then, but the line was a little crazy, so I skipped it.

The train was great! With the views on the Liberty Belle, and then what I saw from the train, I caught a lot of Magic Kingdom views I’d never seen before!

I don’t know what that scene was supposed to be, but I kind of think we weren’t supposed to see it.

 

[dawnmichele]

The sun was setting as I arrived at the Studios.

I had my picture taken at the tree outside of the park.

And again when I got inside. I wanted a picture pretending to be afraid outside the Tower. Somehow that had never happened so I asked the photographer to do it. Yes, I am very cheezy.

Look how long ago this trip was - I got a paper fastpass. It was during that short time where fastpass+ had started, but many attractions still have paper fast passes as well.

I always wanted to try to animation class but my family was never into it. Being on my own, I decided to do it twice.

This lady was the best animation teacher I ever had.

By the time I was done with the classes, it was dark out. But I wasn’t ready to go home!

I took a last voyage on the Star Tours. With no one around to stop me, I bought this hat. It was great that night - I was a little chilly and it was just enough to keep me comfortable. On the other hand, I haven’t worn it since. It made me happy that night, at least.

I wore it on the ride and it made my photopass pictures much easier to spot. The park was pretty empty and I rode the Tower of Terror a couple times before I left.

All the food in the park was closed, but I hadn’t had dinner yet. That seems to be a common problem, at least in the winter. I decided to check the monorail resort quick services to find some food.

Next: The GFlo