Nothing Can Stop Us Now! The End! Well almost, quick recap of Jan 22 trip! Update on April trip 4/21*

[disneyAndi14]

Another wonderful new experience called Kite Tails!!

Let the pictures tell the story. This was a great show. We had a great seat and we had a nice cold beverage from Joffreys to sip on, while we watched this show.

The extra large kites are cool and they do take a very less than graceful landing, but wow loved it!








The narrator keeps saying remember what goes up must come down. That is very true. There are two different large kites, we watched the Jungle Book one. Karamie saw the Lion King one, she loved it as well, she said it was way better than the new firework show Enchantment at MK, lol









It was close to 11:30, after the show and it was time to meet up with Lesley and Karamie for FoP.

Andi had a few emails related to school and she took care of this. She headed out to AKL and we would meet her at Sanaa.

I met up with the ladies, and we got right in to our pre show chamber in less than 10 minutes, yay! However, once in the chamber we waited and waited and oh no pulled out because of technical difficulties, ugh! We decided to wait a little longer and we did get back in before Karamie and I were going to bail. Needless to say, we would be a little late for our ADR. We did have an amazing flight finally, and we speed walked to a bus, thank goodness a bus was at the stop. Andi let the CM at Sanaa know we would be late. She said no worries, her mom was stuck on Pirates once before an ADR. Andi said she was very nice about it.

We arrived about 15 minutes late and seated shortly after this.

The restaurant was ver busy. We ordered the wonderful bread service with the secret 10th dip, it is an extra spicy ghost pepper sauce. Andi loved this, not me to spicy

Andi and I shared the tandoori chicken, this was really good. Karamie had the Potjie with the butter chicken. We had such a nice visit I forgot to take any pictures, boo

We did see a baby zebra out in the Savannah and he was doing zoomies like Andi’s bunny does. Animals do this when they are happy! It was so stinking cute ☺

Andi and I said goodbye to Karamie and we took a Lyft back to FQ. We decided to take a rest. Today was the day we should have received the modified housekeeping. Well, we didn’t and we had to track down someone for fresh towels and to at least remove the dirty towels and garbage. Not impressed with this at all. Universal was back to doing regular housekeeping and it was great to come back to a clean room!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Nighttime at AK, another wonderful experience!

We headed back to AK in the early evening. We did FoP and again the paid side was super quick, very nice.

The only problem was a very scared child next to us, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, terrified screams, oh my!

It did make our ride a little less enjoyable, ugh! Still a great ride and glad I rode twice today.

All the luminescent lights were glowing when we walked out.


My other goal was to watch the Tree of Life story and lights.




I got right up close and had a great view. Andi went off to get water and to my surprise, a gift for me, at Starbucks. She wasn’t interested in the light show.

She also got us on the walk up list for Nomad’s lounge.

The timing was perfect, we got called to the lounge right after the tree show. It was a little after 7pm and the park closed at 8pm.

We each had a drink, I had the Leaping Lizard and Andi had the new Green shimmering Margarita. We both loved our drinks.


We decided to share the impossible sliders with the yucca fries and, of course, the house made churros. Best churros I have ever had, yummy. The sliders were good. We have learned the impossible sliders are better than the beef ones here. The beef ones tend to be dry.




This was a perfect way to end the most awesome day at AK.

We headed out of a nearly empty park. Back at FQ, Andi went to the pool bar and ordered a drink from there.


Here is the gift Andi bought me, the 50th we are here mug from AK, loved it!


Stay tuned for our first day with purchasing Genie+, spoiler alert, not impressed!

 

[pkondz]

Haha! It was so delicious and made to order, yummy beignets! Special touch shaped liked Mickey.

So.... the only thing better than beignets is... Mickey shaped beignets?

We rarely do but the boat would have been over an hour I’m sure with the crowd waiting!

Yeah, okay. That's a long time to wait.

We would definitely need a parka and mittens, scarf, boots, etc…

we had a new captain training and the other captain was telling us how hard it is to steer those boats, it was interesting getting a lesson!

That would be fun to listen to/see.

It was actually quiet in there amidst the busy bustling Epcot! We love the aquarium

I love being in the aquarium!

There also is a mission space vehicle out there as well!

Now that's cool!

 

[pkondz]

Before I start this update, I want to wish everyone a wonderful Holiday season.

Right back atcha Caroline!

We had a very nice Christmas weekend with both Jack and Andi here with us. We stayed small with just the 4 of us. It was spent visiting, eating delicious food, drinking yummy wine and cherishing our time together!

Sounds very nice.
I'll be spending "Christmas" with my Mom, Dad & sister in two days. Haven't had any time off to be with them yet.

Now today, we are having a true Minnesota blizzard, yuck!

We have at least 8 inches of new snow and the winds are whipping so much it is near white out conditions at times. Welcome to northern Minnesota in December!

Very similar here. We have the accumulation, but luckily not the blowing winds. I had to shovel twice just to get to work this morning.

Now back to beautiful Florida the polar opposite of Minnesota in the winter

I see what you did there.

The plan was to ride FoP right away, well we instead went to Navi River Journey. This was just way less stressful and way less mobbed!

I don't think I could give up a rope drop FoP.

the large Shaman animatronic was working!

Yay!

I heard she is down again and replaced with the screen so we were lucky to see her working.

Oh for Pete's sake!

Love your wave.
Also the girls in the back row.

Next up was Everest for Andi, she walked right on in the single rider line x 2, yay!

Love the single rider line there!

First, we saw the bats actually flying around and a CM feeding them. This was so cool. I have never seen the bats active, ever!!

Cool!

Things got even more amazing, when the younger female tiger was pacing, jumping, and roaring, what?? This was so cool.

No way! That's super cool!

The CM told us she was in heat and calling for a mate, bummer none available for her.

ooohhh... I'd hate to be in a cage with a ticked off tiger.

Her mom, was in another enclosure and she was very vocal as well, telling the daughter to chill out.

We also got to see the newest baby Ada clinging to her mom, it was precious.

Awww...

All the puppets are cool, but this is a really great shot!

 

[suse66]

A goal of mine was to see each park at nighttime.

I adore the parks at night, nothing better!

We had the queso dip, chips, salsa, and the house made guacamole . Everything was very fresh and delicious. I also ordered the chicken taquitos. These are my favorite, very fresh, perfectly fried with a nice crunch and the Mexican cheese on top is so tasty. We once again had a relaxing lunch, this maybe the way to tour Disney now lol This report is mostly food related.

Yum!

There was a PP spot with Remy in a magic shot and we did this before entering the ride queue. Once we got to the ride, we couldn’t believe the difference with the paid attraction line, wow, I felt like a celebrity, lol. Virtually no wait at all. We were on and off the ride in a total of maybe 10 minutes at the most.

Perfect!

Absolutely lovely. We got a few pictures done with SE in the background.

These are gorgeous! I love the new night show.

I also was able to ride LWTL at night with the Christmas overlay, another AHA moment. Amazing. The narration is even different. This was one of the highlights of this trip most definitely. We were all full and tired after LWTL except Lesley she was staying for Harmonious.

This is so fun...I love that overlay.

We were all shocked how much we enjoyed this meal and all 4 of us said it was the best meal we have had at Disney in awhile and was number one for this trip.

Wow! So glad you all enjoyed it!

Before I start this update, I want to wish everyone a wonderful Holiday season. We had a very nice Christmas weekend with both Jack and Andi here with us. We stayed small with just the 4 of us. It was spent visiting, eating delicious food, drinking yummy wine and cherishing our time together!

Perfect! We had a lovely Christmas too with all three boys home. My SIL was here too which was really nice.

We decided on the trails next and wow it was amazing!

First, we saw the bats actually flying around and a CM feeding them. This was so cool. I have never seen the bats active, ever!!

Things got even more amazing, when the younger female tiger was pacing, jumping, and roaring, what?? This was so cool. The CM told us she was in heat and calling for a mate, bummer none available for her.

Amazing!

Andi and I went to the front of the Tree and yay, we got to see the magical menagerie of the puppet animals! Another AHA moment. I loved this, these animals were so interactive and the CMs working with them awesome! I was feeling giddy and like a 5 year old girl watching this. Disney this is why I love you ❤

Absolutely! The magical menagerie is the best!

The narrator keeps saying remember what goes up must come down. That is very true. There are two different large kites, we watched the Jungle Book one. Karamie saw the Lion King one, she loved it as well, she said it was way better than the new firework show Enchantment at MK, lol

Glad to hear a positive review of Kite Tails!

Andi and I said goodbye to Karamie and we took a Lyft back to FQ. We decided to take a rest. Today was the day we should have received the modified housekeeping. Well, we didn’t and we had to track down someone for fresh towels and to at least remove the dirty towels and garbage. Not impressed with this at all. Universal was back to doing regular housekeeping and it was great to come back to a clean room!

Disney really needs to step up their game with cleanliness standards.

I got right up close and had a great view. Andi went off to get water and to my surprise, a gift for me, at Starbucks. She wasn’t interested in the light show.

She also got us on the walk up list for Nomad’s lounge.

The timing was perfect, we got called to the lounge right after the tree show. It was a little after 7pm and the park closed at 8pm.

We each had a drink, I had the Leaping Lizard and Andi had the new Green shimmering Margarita. We both loved our drinks.

You couldn't ask for a better way to end the day!

 

[pkondz]

The extra large kites are cool and they do take a very less than graceful landing, but wow loved it!

Oh! I'm glad to hear that. I haven't heard anything about it.

Nice shot.

Karamie saw the Lion King one, she loved it as well, she said it was way better than the new firework show Enchantment at MK, lol

Oh dear. Not exactly a stellar endorsement of the MK show.

Cool!

I met up with the ladies, and we got right in to our pre show chamber in less than 10 minutes, yay! However, once in the chamber we waited and waited and oh no pulled out because of technical difficulties, ugh! We decided to wait a little longer and we did get back in before Karamie and I were going to bail. Needless to say, we would be a little late for our ADR.

Glad it worked out in the end. Hopefully you weren't too stressed at being late for the ADR.

We ordered the wonderful bread service with the secret 10th dip, it is an extra spicy ghost pepper sauce. Andi loved this, not me to spicy

Never heard of that secret dip... don't think it would be for me anyway.

We had such a nice visit I forgot to take any pictures, boo

That's okay. I have to remind myself sometimes that I'm not getting paid to write TRs and it's okay to just enjoy myself.

We did see a baby zebra out in the Savannah and he was doing zoomies like Andi’s bunny does. Animals do this when they are happy! It was so stinking cute ☺

Today was the day we should have received the modified housekeeping. Well, we didn’t and we had to track down someone for fresh towels and to at least remove the dirty towels and garbage. Not impressed with this at all. Universal was back to doing regular housekeeping and it was great to come back to a clean room!

I'm so not impressed with that.
They used to offer gift cards or credits if you declined Mousekeeping... now it's just "Too bad, you don't get it."

We did FoP and again the paid side was super quick, very nice.

Good to know.

The only problem was a very scared child next to us, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, terrified screams, oh my!

Oh dear.

All the luminescent lights were glowing when we walked out.

Such a cool place at night. But...

My other goal was to watch the Tree of Life story and lights.

...that just blows me away.

She wasn’t interested in the light show.

Not... interested...

She also got us on the walk up list for Nomad’s lounge.

The timing was perfect, we got called to the lounge right after the tree show. It was a little after 7pm and the park closed at 8pm.

Nice! It's really a great spot.

We have learned the impossible sliders are better than the beef ones here. The beef ones tend to be dry.

Huh!

Here is the gift Andi bought me, the 50th we are here mug from AK, loved it!

Very nice.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Those early mornings sure make it hard to relax on vacation, don't they! Glad you were able to get a nice ride on NRJ, definitely a great way to start the day! Your trail experiences sound amazing, those trails are so overlooked. Awesome that you can have new experiences every trip on them! The puppets are so cute, I love the penguins so much. It's funny when the CMs make them "run" after people! Kite Tails looks very interesting, very ambitious for a state that gets so much inclement weather!! It is impossible to make an ADR on time I swear, you are either way too early or late, there is no in between!

I can't wait to try the 10th ghost pepper sauce at Sanaa. I am going with a friend and we are eating there on the evening before the Princess 10k, maybe not a smart idea to eat anything spicy before a race, oh well! Bummer on the housekeeping, I reuse the same towel at home but for some reason I hate doing that on vacation! Nomad's always looks so relaxing, one of these days I will make some time for it. That mug is so cute, I think mugs are one of the best souvenirs from Disney trips!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

i never knew about a secret dip for the bread service. Id like to try it!

Those puppets in AK are just adorable.

 

[amazingact21]

We stayed small with just the 4 of us. It was spent visiting, eating delicious food, drinking yummy wine and cherishing our time together!

Glad you had a wonderful holiday! We stayed small, as well. Except ours was busy with playing the games the kids got for Christmas and watching them build too many HP Lego sets.

The plan was to ride FoP right away, well we instead went to Navi River Journey. This was just way less stressful and way less mobbed!

Well, since you ended up with two FOP rides, this was the best decision. Start off the morning with a calm dark ride instead of milling about with the masses.

Originally, I didn’t want to pay for the ILL selections, however, I decided this worked for us with the crowd levels high.

This is something I am starting to accept will have to happen for my trip next summer. I wish it weren't the case, but I feel like the new system is designed that way.

The trails were low crowds this early and we had a VIP experience. Pro tip, do not miss the trails at AK, amazing adventures can be had!!

That sounds awesome! What a great experience.

No Genie+ or extra payment required for this wonderful experience!!

Sshhhh...don't let them hear. They're looking to slap a price tag on everything right now.

I loved this, these animals were so interactive and the CMs working with them awesome!

They look so, so cool!!!

We did see a baby zebra out in the Savannah and he was doing zoomies

Aw, I love when animals get the zoomies. I guess I never thought about a zebra getting them. How fun to see.

This was a perfect way to end the most awesome day at AK

It does sound pretty great.

Here is the gift Andi bought me, the 50th we are here mug from AK, loved it!

Very nice! Love Disney Starbucks mugs. (Although I probably have too many at this point.)

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Your time at animal kingdom sounds wonderful. I love that even after tons of trips you still get new experiences to enjoy. So sweet of Andi to buy you a gift
Glad you had a lovely Christmas. We did too. So much nicer than last year. For a start I have hair this year but even better than that, we got to see family! We met my husbands side for Buck’s Fizz and pigs in blankets on Christmas morning before we all went our own ways for dinner and then yesterday we went to my sister’s for the afternoon where we stuffed ourselves silly with party food and leftover turkey. The cousins all enjoy eachother company and the craic was great. Only downside was my daughter and her family are in Denmark this year and my niece and her husband couldn’t come home from Glasgow because they tested positive so we had to Skype them in to join the party. Technology sure is great!

 

[snikki]

I wasn't always the biggest AK fan mostly because every time we hit the park it's was so HOT we couldn't fully enjoy it. Then a few trips ago we got to enjoy it in the evening and it's really grown on me and is one of my favorite parks. It's such a gorgeous park, especially at night. DD and I want to spend more time there next trip after doing almost two full days last trip. We didn't even get to the trails last trip and it's a priority to do them next trip. Sanaa is on my list too!

 

[disneyAndi14]

So.... the only thing better than beignets is... Mickey shaped beignets?

Exactly!

I love being in the aquarium

Sounds very nice.
I'll be spending "Christmas" with my Mom, Dad & sister in two days. Haven't had any time off to be with them yet.

I hope you have a wonderful time with family!

Very similar here. We have the accumulation, but luckily not the blowing winds. I had to shovel twice just to get to work this morning

We had 44 degrees on Christmas Eve and now we have at least 18 inches of new snow and below zero temps today. Yuck

I see what you did there.

Polar vortex, dumb name but definitely here right now!

I don't think I could give up a rope drop FoP.

If we didn’t have the FOP reservations I would have stuck out the uncomfortable crowded line!

Love your wave.
Also the girls in the back row.

I didn’t even realize the girls in the back. They must love this ride as much as me, lol

Love the single rider line there!

It works great for Andi!

No way! That's super cool!

It really was, the interactions with the CMs and the animals was awesome!

ooohhh... I'd hate to be in a cage with a ticked off tiger.

Most definitely. They have to separate mom and dtr now, mom would actually try to harm the dtr now! Yikes

All the puppets are cool, but this is a really great shot!

I still can’t describe the utter happiness I felt with this simple show, amazing!

 

[pkondz]

I hope you have a wonderful time with family!

Thanks!

We had 44 degrees on Christmas Eve and now we have at least 18 inches of new snow and below zero temps today. Yuck

We've got about the same amount of snow. It's piled over 5 feet high in one spot, from shoveling. Temps here right now are -22F.

If we didn’t have the FOP reservations I would have stuck out the uncomfortable crowded line!

I can see that.

I didn’t even realize the girls in the back. They must love this ride as much as me, lol

It works great for Andi!

And for me!

Most definitely. They have to separate mom and dtr now, mom would actually try to harm the dtr now! Yikes

Really! Huh!

Is that a tiger... or a cougar?

I still can’t describe the utter happiness I felt with this simple show, amazing!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Before I work on my replies I wanted to say



Did you see the Hidden Mickey

 

[disneyAndi14]

I adore the parks at night, nothing better!

Really beautiful at Christmas time

These are gorgeous! I love the new night show.

SE adds such a beautiful new vibe to Epcot with the new lights love it

This is so fun...I love that overlay.

It made me so happy amazing what an overlay can do!

Wow! So glad you all enjoyed it!

We really did, so good!

Perfect! We had a lovely Christmas too with all three boys home. My SIL was here too which was really nice.

Sounds Wonderful

Absolutely! The magical menagerie is the best!

So hard to explain how awesome this was!

Glad to hear a positive review of Kite Tails!

I honestly don’t see how someone could not feel happy watching this show!

Disney really needs to step up their game with cleanliness standards.

Yes, the minimal to zero Mousekeeping is not acceptable!

You couldn't ask for a better way to end the day!

It was such a nice night to have a drink and small bites at Nomad’s

We've got about the same amount of snow. It's piled over 5 feet high in one spot, from shoveling. Temps here right now are -22F.

I’m glad I’m not in this alone, lol

Is that a tiger... or a cougar?

Well, if mom stole daughter’s mate she would be a cougar for sure,

 

[disneyAndi14]

Oh! I'm glad to hear that. I haven't heard anything about it.

I had read some very negative reviews, like it was dumb and amateur for Disney! I didn’t feel that way at all, it was a really fun show! I would really recommend seeing the show!

Oh dear. Not exactly a stellar endorsement of the MK show.

Now Enchantment, I haven’t seen yet but most people I have talked to did not care for it!

Glad it worked out in the end. Hopefully you weren't too stressed at being late for the ADR.

It was a little stressful but worked out well!

Never heard of that secret dip... don't think it would be for me anyway.

I read about and knew Andi would love it!

That's okay. I have to remind myself sometimes that I'm not getting paid to write TRs and it's okay to just enjoy myself.

Very true!

I'm so not impressed with that.
They used to offer gift cards or credits if you declined Mousekeeping... now it's just "Too bad, you don't get it."

Disney should offer a discount on the rooms since they don’t offer Mousekeeping anymore, instead the prices are outrageous for rooms now a days

that just blows me away.

It was such a nice show on the Tree of Life and why Andi didn’t want to watch, no idea! Kids!

Nice! It's really a great spot.

Love the laid back vibe of Nomads

Those early mornings sure make it hard to relax on vacation, don't they! Glad you were able to get a nice ride on NRJ, definitely a great way to start the day! Your trail experiences sound amazing, those trails are so overlooked.

There is no sleeping in at Disney, lol
The trails this trip proved to be really amazing!

The puppets are so cute, I love the penguins so much. It's funny when the CMs make them "run" after people! Kite Tails looks very interesting, very ambitious for a state that gets so much inclement

The penguins are so cute and it really is a nice addition to AK at Christmas time!
Kite Tails is really good, check it out!

I can't wait to try the 10th ghost pepper sauce at Sanaa. I am going with a friend and we are eating there on the evening before the Princess 10k, maybe not a smart idea to eat anything spicy before a race, oh well! Bummer on the housekeeping, I reuse the same towel at home but for some reason I hate doing that on vacation! Nomad's always looks so relaxing, one of these days I will make some time for it. That mug is so cute, I think mugs are one of the best souvenirs from Disney trips

Haha, worth trying the sauce, just go easy, it is super spicy. I tried a tiny speck and wow! Yes be careful before running the 10k, lol
Right the lack of Mousekeeping is my #1 pet peeve at Disney, well maybe Genie is a tied with that
Nomad’s lounge is a must do!
I have so many of these mugs, I love them!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Merry Christmas to you and your family

Thank you Courtney!

Those puppets in AK are just adorable.

They really are, simple addition brings so much joy!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Glad you had a wonderful holiday! We stayed small, as well. Except ours was busy with playing the games the kids got for Christmas and watching them build too many HP Lego sets.

Sounds lovely, I miss watching and playing with all the toys Santa would bring to the kids!

Well, since you ended up with two FOP rides, this was the best decision. Start off the morning with a calm dark ride instead of milling about with the masses.

It really was, the cattle run in the morning is not pleasant! It was nice to relax on Navi!

This is something I am starting to accept will have to happen for my trip next summer. I wish it weren't the case, but I feel like the new system is designed that way.

Yes, unless Disney makes some big changes, it will be like this for awhile!

That sounds awesome! What a great experience.

It really was a wonderful experience on the trails, the CMs really like to answer your questions and give you some great info when it isn’t packed with people!

Sshhhh...don't let them hear. They're looking to slap a price tag on everything right now.

Very true! It wouldn’t surprise me! Ugh

They look so, so cool!!!

They really are and just make you feel really happy.

Aw, I love when animals get the zoomies. I guess I never thought about a zebra getting them. How fun to see.

Fun to watch!

It does sound pretty great.

Perfect day and evening

Very nice! Love Disney Starbucks mugs. (Although I probably have too many at this point.)

I have to many but Disney keeps adding new ones!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Your time at animal kingdom sounds wonderful. I love that even after tons of trips you still get new experiences to enjoy. So sweet of Andi to buy you a gift
Glad you had a lovely Christmas. We did too. So much nicer than last year. For a start I have hair this year but even better than that, we got to see family! We met my husbands side for Buck’s Fizz and pigs in blankets on Christmas morning before we all went our own ways for dinner and then yesterday we went to my sister’s for the afternoon where we stuffed ourselves silly with party food and leftover turkey. The cousins all enjoy eachother company and the craic was great. Only downside was my daughter and her family are in Denmark this year and my niece and her husband couldn’t come home from Glasgow because they tested positive so we had to Skype them in to join the party. Technology sure is great!

Thank you and I have to say the AK day was my favorite day of this trip!
I’m so happy to hear you had a wonderful holiday! Hair and family lol
Stay healthy my friend!
I have no idea what Buck’s Fizz is, fill me in on it, also what is craic?
Are your pigs in a blanket sausage wrapped in a pancake? Or something else?
We also do a pork mixture wrapped in cabbage and some call this pigs in a blanket.
I’m so happy you got to spend time with family members and able to Skype with the others!
Happy New Year

 

[disneyAndi14]

I wasn't always the biggest AK fan mostly because every time we hit the park it's was so HOT we couldn't fully enjoy it. Then a few trips ago we got to enjoy it in the evening and it's really grown on me and is one of my favorite parks. It's such a gorgeous park, especially at night. DD and I want to spend more time there next trip after doing almost two full days last trip. We didn't even get to the trails last trip and it's a priority to do them next trip. Sanaa is on my list too!

I think years ago, I felt the same way! Disney use to have extra magic hours at AK in the evening and my daughter and I started loving going in the evening, we ,had so much fun! We love hopping to AK in the evening, usually much less crowded in the evening!
We love the trails and try to do at least every other trip! The morning works great so much less crowded.
Sanaa is delicious and the Savannah view is lovely!