Lions and Tigers and CGI Bears, Oh My! June '16 - COMPLETED 6/4, page 22

[nilla]

Great day at AK so far, you got a lot done in that few hours. Love all the gorilla pics, those babies are so cute.

They're the best! Lilly was great at that age, too, but the fact that there are two of them makes it even more fun.

Glad to hear you are going to ride EE at night. It was ridiculously awesome! And I agree about JB. We did have plans to see it but dumped it in favor of a sunset safari and EE in the dark.

That's exactly what we did! Both the EE and evening Safari recaps are in the next update

Not sure that I'll get back over there though unless we go back to moderate and other resorts are booked. Just not a fave. Yes, I know, saying that on your TR puts me at risk for getting kicked off but oh well....I said it. Lol.

I'll give you a pass this time.

I'm sure the family had to pry you away from the gorillas.

Yeah, pretty much

I suggested going back there later in the day, too. I do every year. We never do, though.

I've made a note about the slider. That will be a great snack option for DH.

AK and Epcot had great snack options for people who think snacks should have meat in them. MK and HS, not so much.

So - just a thought for your faithful readers (and a chance for you to feel the Disney Magic). Since you will not be going to Disney next year and it is unlikely that Kristin will write a TR........how about filling the gap in your sig by writing your 2013 TR next year. . Just planting the seed. Lol

There will be an announcement on this at the end of this Trip Report

Great report so far. You've convinced me to want to stay at CSR!

Then my work here is done

What a great morning at Animal Kingdom and kudos for Kristin for powering through! Totally stinks to be sick on vacation

Fortunately, she was never too sick to get out of bed. We've been lucky to only have run into that a few times in our years coming here...and it's usually me.

Whenever we try to take a mid-day resort break + nap, it never fails that housekeeping is just starting to work on our room and we are roomless, cranky, and tired... womp womp.

That stinks! We managed to avoid that this year, somehow.

Great photos! I'm learning some new things about AK. More food photos please! YUM!

This day was sort of light on food photos, but there will be more in later updates!

Enjoying your report...can't wait to read more!

Thanks! More coming tonight!

And that's cool she got pictures of you all on Kali River Rapids

She got the entire full-speed-into-the-wall experience in a "burst" (a string of pictures that I eventually have to go through and pick 3 out of about 30 to put in the Trip Report. so it's good and bad.), which is fun to watch.

I love how you guys check on the gorillas each year and track their progress. seriously though, those bckets are like the 1996 tickle-me Elmo's of the gorilla world

Buckets are all the rage this year! Once gorillas finally get human-like rights, I'm going to totally exploit that market.

Glad you figured something out about the hair wraps ... I think they do them at the water parks as well

There may be other places as well. Stay tuned

Pepper Market looks pretty solid - that Aztec burger sounds great

Their burgers in general are really good! We're big fans of that place again.

Just found your report and it's great as always! Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

Thanks! Almost done with Day 7!

The only thing better than a day at Disney is a day at Disney with a mid-day nap!

Disney naps.....just took one.

I am loving the naps...on days I don't sleep enough, at least. But some days I still wanna be in the parks...

Hit MK early today. Got back to the Poly just before it started storming. It's been storming since. Heading to Ohana for dinner tonight. So we don't have far to travel!

Good timing. And great planning!

Looking forward to reading about your evening at Animal Kingdom.

Coming up right now.

Thanks for reading, everyone! And thanks for your patience. Summer is crazy![/QUOTE]

 

[nilla]

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

The reception on the flip phone might make conversations unintelligible, and AT&T says they're killing the 2G (yes, 2G) network at the end of the year. But the alarm still works. So there is that.

Our self-imposed one hour nap time over, I ask Emily if she wants to hit the pool now.

Nope.

No? Ok. That's unusual. But not that unusual, since she enjoys making gymnastics-involved Musical.ly videos outside the room as much, if not more, than swimming. So at least she's not just laying in bed. Like the rest of us.

We do get up and start getting ready, eventually. Today, we return by cab to Port Orleans Riverside for dinner at Boatwright's. The last time I ate there, and the last time I've been to POR at all, was back when Emily was 1 and we had yet to start traveling as solely a family of four. So this should be fun.

And crowded.



Cajun Panchitos is jumpin'! And why not? This place is so great, they even have a "theme Duffy" thing that kids can participate in:



What's not to love about that?

More theming:





H/D/L are remarkably under-represented at WDW, if you ask me. But at least they're here. And I guess they can't complain TOO much. At least not in the presence of these afterthoughts:



We leave without purchasing anything. Well, anything worth remembering, at least. But it was fun to see. I don't remember it AT ALL.

We still have time before our ADRs, so we step outside to check out the resort. The kids don't really remember it, which makes perfect sense for Emily, and even some sense for Dylan. It WAS ten years ago. I recognize the landmarks:



This resort is really nice, and I can see why so many people love it. I prefer the Beach/Lake thing at CSR. But this place has a lot, too:





As we exited Cajun El Centro, Kristin and Emily spotted a hair wrap station, and they're on it. Two is their limit, but they're not waiting for later in the week to get the second one. It's hair wrappin' time RIGHT NOW!

Dylan and I check out the pool:







Lots of gimmicks, but I still prefer the slide and overall layout at Coronado. What can I say? I love Coronado.

We do have some great memories of this pool, though:





Afterall, this resort was where horrible, awful baby Emily became happy baby Emily. The switch was flipped when she got here. So thank you, Port Orleans Riverside, for that!

Let's check on the girls:



Not done yet. Ok, resort pics!







The wheel's not running. For some reason.

 

[nilla]

Back to the hair wrapping station now. Emily's done!



Kristin's not.



So I go to check out the Sassagoula food court:



That's the only photo I took in there.

Ok, I lie. I took one more:



I didn't find it necessary to post that one. But since you insisted, there it is. Now, here's a bridge:



And here are planers. Or something.



Wait, that last photo was taken from inside Boatwright's! When did we get in there?

Well, somewhere between the last photo and the one before it. But that's not important. Here's something that is:



Cornbread! Now, who doesn't love cornbread?

Or steak?



Or mac and cheese? Well, I guess vegans. But we're not vegans. Here's what Kristin and I both got, according to the WDW website:

The Big Easy - 10 oz Grilled New York Strip with Peppercorn Cream served with Crawfish Mac & Cheese

Fantastic! The food is really good here!

The kids got the chicken and waffles:



I'm a big fan of fried chicken, and since that's a pretty hefty piece of fried chicken, I got to finish both of the kids' meals. Also good! Plus, the meal was called "Voooooooodooooooo Chicken!"

...

Ok, it was just called "Voodoo Chicken". Emily got some sort of lemonade:



For dessert, someone got sorbet:



And someone got the cake:



"Joie de Vivre Peanut Butter Mousse Cake - Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mousse topped with a Warm Ganache". I'm guessing Dylan. And probably me. And Kristin.

The desserts, and the rest of the meal were good, but the service was REALLY slow. Our waitress was nice, but the food took forever to come out. Add in that the theming (building boats) doesn't do a lot for me, and this clearly wasn't my favorite meal. Which would explain why I was able to recap it in half a post.

But it certainly was still good. But not the best. Disney standards!

 

[nilla]

One of the downsides of slow service at dinner is that our FastPass window opening is approaching. We still have time to get back to AK, but not THAT much time.

I guess we had time to see the pool one more time, though. This time for the girls. But no photos. It alters the homing signal and that's...not relevant here.

After exiting the pool area, we took a quick walk through some section of buildings by the pool (no idea what the name of that area was), eventually running into a crying girl, probably around 7 or 8. Kristin asks if she's lost (she looks lost), and she says she can't find her family. We ask if they're at the pool, and she doesn't know. Since she's in a bathing suit, that seems like a good place to look. Master detective skills at work here, people.

So we head back to the pool, but she can't find her parents. Alright, plan B. Off to the front desk to turn this child in.

Right before we got past the end of the pool fence, another girl, probably 13 or 14, turns the corner, and immediately turns red. It's this girl's sister, who asks, "where did you go??" NOT happy.

So lost kid returned, and we're on our way back to Animal Kingdom. By bus.

A few more photos on the way to the bus stop:







And, of course, this:



The first thing we notice at the bus stop is that there is no times screen. Man, we got spoiled by those quick.

A screen would have been really nice, too, since it took FOR-EVER for an Animal Kingdom bus to arrive.

One eventually did, fortunately...and we got back to AK with time remaining on our Safari FPs.

Photos on the way:

 

[nilla]

We reach Kilimanjaro Safaris, and the sun is starting to set. We've read that this ride is great right at sunset, but not as great when it actually gets dark. So we're getting impatient.

Bad time for the FP line to be backed up. But it is. Let's go! The sun's going down!

Finally, we're on a truck and on our way. In time. Phew!

Hey, look - the Rhino is actually moving!



Wildebeest:



Fake sunset! Coupled with a real sunset!



Kristin fell for the fake sunset, but only because she didn't know there was such a thing as a fake sunset on the Safari. She's not on these boards quite as much as I am. It looks very real and adds a cool effect, but I can see why it would look odd in the dark.

Loving the moon tonight, too:



Real moon, btw.

Blurry elephants!



For some reason, that was the last photo we took on that ride. Which doesn't make a lot of sense, because the lions were completely visible. Best view we've ever had of them. But no photos, so...sorry.

The Safari at that time was great, and I'd do it again. I don't know that all of the animals were more active than usual, and the giraffes were M.I.A., but the lions were out, and that's mostly what we cared about. We've seen hippos before.

After the Safari, we got FPs for Primeval Whirl at whatever time was right now, and started over toward Dinoland. The Tree's lit up now, but not doing it's thing yet:





Darkness falls. Show's starting soon, too:



Actually, it looks like it's already started:

 

[nilla]

We watch for about 5 minutes, if that. It looks like a good show, but we're not in the mood. Now THIS is what interests us:



That's the real moon, folks, and not some gimmick like the sunset on the Safari. Or, at least I think it's real. Who knows with Disney?

We got in the single rider line, again without Emily. Ok. Your choice. She'll meet us in the gift shop again.

No pictures on the ride, but I blame Kristin for that. We were in different rows. The ride was A-MAZING, though. So much better at night. And we love it during the day. The full moon was a great backdrop, too. If you get the chance to do this, don't pass it up. Wow.

After we exited the ride, the Jungle Book show wrapped up, and we were almost trampled by an organized march of Jungle Book show performers. They weren't stopping, and the masses made it hard to get out of their way.

We got to Dinoland, and the phone remained in Kristin's Dooney and Burke Disney wristlet. So no photos. We're kind of photo'd out. For now, at least.

We rode Primeval, and realized immediately that FPs were totally unnecessary. But there really wasn't anything else we wanted to ride, so oh well.

To the side of the ride, DJ Fire Dinosaur Hat was on the cut, spinning the latest hits from a stage over by the gift shop. I don't think that was his real name, but it should describe his outfit to you, in lieu of pictures.

We werren't sticking around for his entire set, though. Or were we? It looks like he's wrapping up anyway. Kristin grabbed FPs for Dinosaur at 9:35, and we walked over to see the Tree of Life.

As a big fan of Magic, Memories and You or Celebrate the Magic or whatever they're calling the show where they project stuff up onto Cinderella's Castle these days, I'm excited to see what they're doing with the Tree here at AK. Because it's basically the same thing.

Show's starting!



Cool! The show seems to revolve around a fox...at first, at least. Then, other animals. The concept is really interesting: actual animals - well, CGI versions of animals - in situations and with music clearly resembling, but not identical to, various animal-related Disney films.

Anyway, here are the photos:









We didn't take THAT many photos, mostly because we wanted to watch it. Plus, the ones we got weren't very good.

Emily got bored halfway through the show, but I think she was just at the point of the night where she was going to be a problem regardless. At least one of the kids was still being fun:



We loved that show! We were able to get a great spot for it, too, since there weren't really that many people watching it. Certainly nothing like at Magic Kingdom. I think it's because this isn't really in a hub, and there isn't a lot of traffic that goes past the Tree at any given time. Oddly enough, most of the people lined up well behind the area we were in.

 

[nilla]

It's time for Dinosaur now! Who cares that we were already on it twice? We're riding again. And you can't stop us.

Because it already happened.

FastPasses were silly to have for this one, too. When we reached the theater, there were maybe 7 other people in there. We noticed a mom and her teenage daughter standing by the doors, and got right next to them. It was obvious who's been on this before, and it wasn't the family standing front and center.

We start talking to the two by the door, and she asks if we think the door is locked. She tries it...

...and it opens! Out we go...we just skipped the film!

Or not.

A CM came around the corner ahead to stop us. BUSTED.

You MUST watch the movie.

No exceptions.

I'm imagining the scene in the control room when we broke free of the tyrannical film mandate. I'm surprised there wasn't an alarm that sounded in the attraction, but they probably try to hide that from the rest of the guests. But behind the scenes, it was probably go time.

You MUST watch the movie.

No exceptions.

So it's back into the theater, for the end of the pre-ride film. Alright. If we must.

We rode, but no pictures, again. We had fun, as always. Dylan and I screamed like idiots.

After Dino, we had the option to (1) go back to CSR, or (2) ride Expedition Everest again.

Emily chooses (1). The rest of us choose (2). So (2) it is.

The Jungle Book show is going on again:



Meh, no time.

We try to convince Emily to ride with us, but she's not interested. So she waits in the gift shop.

The single-rider line is closed, but the standby line is almost non-existent, so no problem. We get to ride together!

The camera DID come out of the wristlet this time:



Jungle Book show, at 45 degrees:



Oh no!



As I said before, this ride is A-MAZING at night. Heck, let's give it two hyphens. It's A-MA-ZING. It's AT LEAST two hyphens good at night. Plus caps. But that part's obvious.

So ride it at night. If you can.

We briefly debated riding one more time, but didn't want to abandon Emily again, so we decided against it. You can probably guess what Dylan's opinion was.

Two more photos before we go:



Here's what the girl thinks of it:



Not sure what happened since last year. Hopefully, she'll ride it next year.

 

[nilla]

Finally done with AK, we called it a night. Exit march photo!



Wait, Kristin needs this one every year:



And who doesn't love Duffy backpacks?



Certainly not that guy!

We loved Animal Kingdom at night, even though we missed all of the street entertainment. That would have been fun, too. But rides. They always win.

I could definitely make a full day out of this park, if it's open late. Here's hoping they don't end the late closures.

We got on a bus right around 11:00. CSR is considered an "Animal Kingdom Resort", which means we're home in no time.

Our next day is an Epcot day, which means "sleep in". Which means "don't go to sleep right away". At some point during the trip, I showed the kids the "Gumby Brain Surgery" sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus, and it was an instant hit. It may have been on this night. Let's just say it was.

It's a good thing we're not trying to sleep yet, too, because the baby in the room next door is WAILING. That never really bothers me, except for the empathy I feel for the person who has to deal with it. Not fun. Don't miss that at all!

We fall asleep around 12:30 (me sooner than that, because I can sleep through babies I don't have to deal with), and I don't think there are any fireworks show tests scheduled for tonight, so we should sleep great. Tomorrow, back to Epcot for a third time.

Good night!

(Up next, Day 8!)

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

There are no lost children at Disney. Only lost parents.

Last week when we were eating at Captain Cook's at the Poly Emily went to refill her drink. When she came back to the table she said there was a little girl that was 2-3 years old that had lost her parents. A cast member asked Emily if the child belonged to her. After a few minutes the mom showed up. She seemed so nonchalant as she took the child from a cast member's arms -- "Yeah, she's mine". I would have been freaking out.

The fake sunset looks like there is a fire in the trees.

I love that baby picture of Emily. So adorable!

 

[nilla]

She seemed so nonchalant as she took the child from a cast member's arms -- "Yeah, she's mine". I would have been freaking out.

I'm guessing that wasn't the first time that mom was in that situation.

I love that baby picture of Emily. So adorable!

Thanks - she was

She really did become "good" on that trip. She was a VERY cranky baby, and not just for two months like Dylan was. Disney truly brought about an improvement. It's almost like she knew that was missing from her life!

 

[ArielSRL]

I also love that adorable Emily baby photo! I'm a redhead so I imagine if had a girl (two boys here), she'd look somewhat similar.

AK at night is superb! Of course, I prefer any park at night. Riding roller coasters at night make them soooo much better! Along with just about any other ride that is outside. Glad to see you guys enjoyed it. I think they are scaling back some for the next few months but I'm assuming it will be back to nighttime hours for summer with possibly an ROL thrown in?? Lol. Oh but you guys are skipping next summer, aren't you?

 

[nilla]

Oh but you guys are skipping next summer, aren't you?

I am. But Kristin and Emily are not.

*Jealous*

I have still not ruled out the possibility of somehow, someway ending up in WDW in 2017. Of course, I also want to go to Minnesota, so I don't know how I'd fit that in. Long weekend with just 3 Epcot days?

 

[ALEXandFAB]

Fake sunset! Coupled with a real sunset!

Fake sunset?! How had I never heard of this?

Show's starting!

Oh, I really, really hope we're about to catch this in November. We are planning mostly daytime at AK with one night thrown in (just waiting for the hours to come out so we can firm up plans).

 

[nilla]

Fake sunset?! How had I never heard of this?

Disney controls the flow of information

Oh, I really, really hope we're about to catch this in November. We are planning mostly daytime at AK with one night thrown in (just waiting for the hours to come out so we can firm up plans).

I loved it! I really like the whole "project stuff up onto big stuff" thing Disney's been doing, and it works great on the Tree. The "carved" animals "come to life", then move about the Tree. Really cool!

 

[rndmr2]

Nice update.

We stayed at POR a few years ago and we really liked it there, we were in the Magnolia Bend section in the building just over the bridge from the pool.

Nice to see AK at night. Hope they are still doing some of it next time I get a chance to go there

 

[nilla]

We stayed at POR a few years ago and we really liked it there, we were in the Magnolia Bend section in the building just over the bridge from the pool.

That's probably the section I was talking about

I liked POR as well, but found the layout confusing. However, considering I have absolutely no internal compass, that's not hard to do

 

[DocDCT]

We get back to CSR around 12:30, and get off at Station 1. Kristin gets a photo of her "Cinderella Bridge":

I set my alarm for an hour out, and I promised Emily I'd take her swimming then. She wanted to go right away, but is willing to compromise. But for now, sleep!

Did she nap too? Kids her age usually don't like to take naps, but sometimes they need some rest and feel better if the parents can convince / enforce them to take one.

 

[ArielSRL]

Sorry to interrupt your current scheduled program but....

I'm reading your past TRs and just finished 2012. What in the world happened to 2013????? Can you help a girl out?

 

[nilla]

Did she nap too? Kids her age usually don't like to take naps, but sometimes they need some rest and feel better if the parents can convince / enforce them to take one.

I don't think she did, to be honest. And she probably needed the nap more than anyone!

Sorry to interrupt your current scheduled program but....

I'm reading your past TRs and just finished 2012. What in the world happened to 2013????? Can you help a girl out?

Sore subject

The 2013 TR was planned, and I had all the photos necessary to do it, but I procrastinated to the point that I couldn't really remember much of what we did on that trip. Rather than fumble through it, I just scrapped it altogether.

However...

The 2013 TR may be happening next year. Signs are pointing to it being started and completed, in lieu of a 2017 trip for me. So how will I get around the lack of detailed notes? Well, I have a plan for that. I'll reveal that at the end of this TR. Stay tuned!

To anyone wondering what happened to the 2016 update, things have been crazy busy, and that might continue for the next two weeks. I MIGHT get an update out tonight, but our laptop took a dive last night and I'll be spending some time tonight getting it back to normal. There will absolutely be an update this weekend.

Thanks for sticking around!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

You are going to try to write a 2013 trip report? Awesome!
We got back from this year's trip less than 2 weeks ago and I've already forgotten so many details!

Sorry to hear about your laptop. Hope you can get it back in good working order soon.