I am going to switch to photobucket, so stay tuned for the pictures.
Day 3 June 1st
We are going to Animal Kingdom today. It will be an early start since we have an 8am breakfast ADR at Donalds Safari Breakfast at Tusker House Restaurant. We were up at 6am, got ready, and headed for the bus stop at 7am. Well, we waited and waited for a bus. There were 2 MK busses, 4 Epcot busses, and 2 empty DHS busses that came and went. I approached the last MK bus driver at pulled up and asked he if could make a call and inquire when an AK bus would be coming along. There were at least 20 people waiting to go to AK. He said, after talking to dispatch, that a bus was enroute and should be there in 2-3 minutes. I thanked him and walked back over and told all who was waiting. About 10 minutes later, at 7:35 our bus arrived. We were concerned that we had only 25 minutes before our ADR, but the ride was uneventful and we arrived right at 8am in front of the restaurant.
Once checked in, we had to wait roughly 5 minutes before our name was called and we were seated. We declined the picture they take before you go in, because we had no intention in buying it. They were not too happy when we declined. Luis was our waiter. He was awesome, very loud and funny. As he was asking who wanted Jungle Juice, I asked for a large glass of milk. Luis asked if I wanted Zebra or Cow milk. I fell for this hook line and sinker and said what the heck bring me zebra milk. Well he brought me a glass of milk, and I took a drink. He then asked how it was and I said tastes like regular cow milk. He started laughing as did DW. Needless to say, I have not lived this down yet. It was a joke that I apparently did not catch on until right then. I am so gullible sometimes. The food was good and the Jungle Juice was great. The kids enjoyed the characters: Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy. This was an enjoyable breakfast.
After breakfast we decided that we wanted to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris first. DS and I did not get to ride this in 2006, so it was a must. The park had just opened and people were being escorted behind CMs to the rides. We joined in and were able to get right on the ride. Most of the animals were up and moving and DW and I got some decent video and pictures. As soon as the ride was over, I wanted to get some video of the Gorillas. DW went to get FPs for Everest. I walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail with the video camera in hand waiting to get some good animal video. The meerkats were out, and I was able to record one that was only 6 feet away standing on his hind legs. How cool. I arrived at the Gorilla Sanctuary and sure enough they were up and eating. I got some cool video and was very excited. I met up with DW, DS, DD, MIL and Niece over by Everest.
DW was able to get 5 FPs for Everest. She did not have my KTTW card so she could not get a sixth one. We had about an hour to go before we could use the FP, so we decided to head over to Dinoland USA. The kids wanted to ride Triceratops Spin and then we walked over toward Primeval Whirl to watch it. Not one of the kids wanted to ride it, so we decided to skip it. I am not good with spinning rides, so I was glad the kids did not want to go. We were off to Dinosaur next. We talked DD and Niece in riding this which was not a good idea. This set the tone for the rest of that day. It was a good ride, just a little jerky. Ok, ok.a lot jerky. But it was fun. Now, I mentioned in the previous trip report that there had not been any breakdown by DD yet. Well, just let me say, she should have not ridden this. She was screaming and crying through the whole thing. She was terrified. DW and I felt so bad. We did not expect that at all. After the ride, DD said she was never riding that ride againEVER. She hopped into the stroller and nothing was the same again today.
It was now close to the time for our FP for Everest. MIL was going to watch the kids and let them play at the Boneyard while DW and I went to ride. Well, just as it was time to go, DW chickens out. She completely backs out on me and hands me all five FPs and says I am on my own. I beg and plead for her to go. She says no. So, I head off by myself and I ride it two times, since I liked it so much. After the second time, I was a little nauseated so I decided to give two of them away to a couple who was getting ready to get FPs and kept one as a souvenir. They thanked me and I was off to meet the family. I also purchased a picture of me riding the ride, so I would have evidence that I rode it.
I headed toward Discovery Island to Its Tough to be a Bug. DW wife had left me a voicemail on my cell that this is where they were while I was riding Everest, the second time, so I was waiting where the exit was. Well, the breakdown for DD and Niece was in full swing. DD did not like ITTBAB and made DW bring her out while the show was still going. Im sure she was still having issues from Dinosaur. They came out and DW told me about the breakdown and how DD wanted to leave AK. She was not happy. DW left and decided to head back to Pop Century to swim and I waited for DS, MIL, and Niece to come out of ITTBAB. DS and I watch this show again, so I could see it. It was very cute. It is a must see for all. DS and I went to PetriFries for some McDonalds fries and a Diet Coke for a snack since it was not quite lunch time. MIL and Niece stayed with us as well.
Again the busses were running slow. DW and DD waited almost 30 minutes for a bus to get them when they left. After DS and I ate our fries, DS decided he would rather go back and swim instead of staying at AK and riding more rides, so he and I headed back to the resort. DW and DD were swimming when we got back. I went to the room to get our mugs and we ate lunch at Everything POP. This is what we had:
- DD Chicken Nuggets, Fries, grapes and chocolate milk.
- DS Nachos Supreme, Tie Dyed Cheescake
- DW Greek Salad, Chocolate Cake
- Me Nachos (Chips and Cheese Only) as a snack credit.
Again we got water bottles as our drinks and used our refillable mugs for icees. The icees were good. That is one of the things we liked about this food court. After lunch DW and DD went back to the room, so DD could take a well needed nap. She was still pretty grouchy after swimming and eating. DS and I swam for a while and then went back to the room to rest before we had to leave for our 7:45pm Dinner ressie at Boma. This is a meal that DW was looking forward to.
We left Pop at 5pm, so we could explore AKL before our ADR. Today was just a bad day for busses. We waited 30 minutes for an AK bus to come. We thought it would be easier to ride to AK then hop on an AKL Bus for a short ride. We arrived and decided to walk around the lobby and pool areas. The hotel is very beautiful. While we were by the pool, we got to see some giraffes in the distance in the Savannah, eating. The kids really enjoyed that. DW wanted to collect refrigerator magnets during this trip from all the parks and resorts we visited, so me made our way to the resorts marketplace to do some shopping. The kids had fun playing with the African drums by the entrance, especially DS. It was 7:15pm, so I decided to see if we could check in early for dinner and to my surprise they let me. We waited in the lobby for a few minutes. We decided to call home and talk with our friends who were taking care of the cat and house for us. They talked about the tornados that had gone through the night after we left. They told us a couple apartment buildings on the East Side of Indianapolis had been knocked down. At 7:30 our pager went off, and we headed to the bottom floor, where Boma is located. DW loved this dinner. I on the other hand did not care for it. DW likes all kinds of food and is a little adventurous in trying new things. DS is kind of like her and will try things but DD and myself are not. We are very picky. I will say the desserts and prime rib were very good. All-in-all Boma was ok, but not a favorite. I could see us trying it again.
Dinner went pretty quickly, since we got in early. So we decided to go watch Wishes at MK. We began waiting another 30 minutes for a bus to the MK. There were several people waiting, and finally, I decided to talk to another driver to see if he could find out what is going on. This was the second time today I had to ask about a bus. He contacted dispatch and was told there was a dispatching error and a bus should be here shortly. I thanked him for checking, and about 5 minutes after that, a bus showed up. Tonight was EMH for MK. We watched Wishes first. This is our favorite fireworks show. We were right in front of Tomorrowland Bridge. We watched Tinkerbell fly right over us. After the show, we wanted to ride Haunted Mansion. Everything was ok, until someone walking through the queue behind us decided to make really scary sounds, and it scared DD. I do not think she had fully recovered from Dinosaur earlier in the day. As we went trough the turnstile before the stretching room, DD and Niece broke completely down. A CM helped DW take DD through an exit and DS and I rode. After we got off the ride, DW and DD decided to leave and head back to the resort. DS wanted to stay and ride a few rides. We went over to Indy Speedway, where DS was tall enough to drive his own car. When we got off, he said, Dad, this was cool. We rode this only once and then headed over to Buzz Lightyear, which is another one of his favorite rides. The line was about a 30 minute wait. It seemed to go faster. After this, he was getting tired and was ready to head back to Pop. We got back around 12:15 am.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to be at Blizzard Beach. After the 3 major break-downs, DW and I decided to alter our game plan. What will we do? Where will we go? Stay tuned and find out. Also, a major revelation is discovered by DW and me. Something we will remember for all future trips.
Some additional comments:
- Today was a good day minus the break downs from DD. I got to ride Everest twice even though I went alone. I always feel bad going off alone, because I want to be with my family. Since DW makes fun of me and the whole zebra milk thing, I call her a chicken for not riding Everest with me.
- The temperature had been above 93 degrees every day so far. Everyone was drinking water and staying hydrated. The local media was actually saying it was hotter than the average for this time of year.
- Even though we are not riding everything we had listed in our daily itinerary, we are having a lot of fun. I say this because the heat does slow you down, and you really need to pay attention to your kids and their movements as well as your own. It is best not to over do it. Have fun, do what you can, and do not regret what you miss. Just save that for another time.
- MIL and Niece go off on their own, and we only see them at dinner and in the evenings after the day has ended.
1999 - Coronado Springs (1 night); 2003 - DL's Paradise Pier (5 nights); 2005 - All Star Music (7 nights); 2007 - POP Century (10 nights); 2008 - DL's Paradise Pier (5 nights); 2009 - POP Century (10 nights); 2010 - Dolphin (2 nights); 2011 - POP Century (7 nights); June 8-18, 2012 - POFQ (10 nights); next trip,June 18-22, 2013 - POFQ (5 nights). If I'm not at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, I'm not really happy.
Originally Posted by petesimac
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